Supernova
by Black Dragon6
Summary: Discontinued
1. Enter the Wild Horse

Supernova  
  
Chapter 1  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
  
  
Standard disclaimers apply, yada yada yada. *Warning* Although this is a Ranma 1/2 fanfiction, Ranma (and possibly Ryoga) will be the only one(s) from that series to actually appear. Other crossovers may commence at my discretion. You can't do anything about it. I control the vertical. I control the horizontal. Apparently, I also control your free time, since you couldn't find anything better to read. *Ahem* anyway, be warned: Ranma may appear OOC due to lack of a curse and many of the martial arts values he had in the anime and manga. This Ranma has no problem using a gun, killing people, and doing things rather dishonorably. You have been warned.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Enter the Wild Horse  
  
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"Wasp Seven to Queen, do you read me? *Phhht* Over."  
  
*Phhht* "This is the Queen, whaddaya want Seven?"  
  
"Just checking in, Commander. Damn, I hate escort duty."  
  
"Quit 'yer bellyachin' Seven. Maybe if you's guys were real pilots instead of wussie greens, we'd get a real job!"  
  
*Phhht* "Fighter group Wasp, this is Nest, we've got an unidentified hyperspace exit at coordinates 671.4 X 833.2, check it out."  
  
"A'right, some action! Ya think it'll be some pirates?"  
  
"Shut up and form up! All fighters lock onto those coordinates and prepare to sting!"  
  
  
  
In the vastness of space, the eight small, black and yellow fighters quickly pulled away from the two freighters and the small blue frigate toward the small blue-white light that accompanied a hyperspace exit. The pilots of the fighters tightened there grips on their flight sticks as the light suddenly expanded... and then quickly closed as a large cylinder appeared.  
  
  
  
"What the hell? That 'ain't a ship!"  
  
"Wow, real sharp, aincha' Four? Maybe you should be one o' them scientist types."  
  
"Aw, shut the !%!^&! up will y- hey! W-what's it doing?"  
  
  
  
A pair of green lights blinked several times, then suddenly stopped and became a constant, solid red. At that moment, the cylinder opened up, to reveal several arms that ended either in blue orbs or electric forks. Electricity coursed through the device, energy arcing around it in deadly ribbons. Then, all at once, a huge white sphere enveloped the cylinder, then expanded outward toward the ships. Before any of the pilots could react, the sphere reached them, sending arcs of energy dancing across their hulls and control panels. Before they knew what was happening, their cockpits had gone dark.  
  
  
  
Aboard the light frigate Nest, things were far more panicked, though it was more due to the crew's inexperience with emergencies than the severity of the situation.  
  
  
  
"I want a status report! What was that?"  
  
"Sensors say it was some kind of EMP wave! The shield protected us and the freighters, but the fighters have lost power! The computer says their computers are commencing a full system restart!"  
  
"DAMN!!! That'll take forever!"  
  
"Sir, we're picking up another hyperspace signature!"  
  
  
  
Another blue light appeared and expanded, this time to a much bigger degree, and out sailed a red ship, a little smaller than the Nest. I resembled a hawk, but with an oversized belly, no talons or tail, and an exaggerated crest where the head would be. The crest ended in an array of sensory towers, and in the middle of it there was a small blue dome that covered the bridge. It wasn't a particularly powerful-looking or intimidating ship, but you wouldn't know from the Nest's crew's reaction.  
  
  
  
"It's the WILD HORSE!!!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Attention! Attention!"  
  
Slowly, the noise a talking slowed to silence as the assembled officers focused their attention on the podium and the man standing behind it. The man adjusted his glasses, and then began to speak.  
  
  
  
"We have called you here today for a mass briefing of the utmost importance. As you know, throughout the galaxy, piracy and smuggling is a constant threat to all who travel through space. Of course, our own forces, not to mention several others have brought many of these criminals to justice, and continue to do so even as we speak. However, there is a particular group that has come to make a name for itself among the pirates and bounty hunters. No doutb you have heard rumors that you have been called here to be given a briefing on a single, small group of pirates, and it's true. These men have managed to escape the police, the military, and the intelligence agency, and even now spread their reign of terror throughout the sector! I have gathered you here today to tell you about them, so you should be better prepared should you meet."  
  
  
  
As the speaker extends a pointer and prepares a viewscreen, whispering begins among the gathered officers, mostly consisting of "They dragged us here to tell us about a bunch of pirates?" and "Oh please. If we met up with these guys, they're dead meat." The man at the podium sighed, took a deep breath, and then activated the first picture.  
  
  
  
"This is their leader, Ranma Saotome."  
  
The assembled crowd focused their attention on the viewscreen, and then...  
  
"YOWZA!! What a hunk!" Chorused most of the female officers.  
  
*Crash* the rest of the officers facefaulted.  
  
The man at the podium merely sweatdropped and shook his head. {Sheesh. Every single time. Women.}  
  
"No way, he can't be a pirate!"  
  
"Yeah, he's way too gorgeous!"  
  
"He must be their prisoner or something!"  
  
This did nothing to help the rest of the officers, who were still trying to get up off the floor.  
  
The picture was of, in fact, a man of about 18 in a sleeveless grey shirt and orange flak vest. He had blue eyes, and black hair which was tied into a pigtail in the back. He had a rogueish smile which made some of the women forget that he was the bad guy, while the others had forgotten long ago as they looked at his trim, well-toned body, which was heavily muscled in all the right places.  
  
The speaker sighed again and tried to continue.  
  
  
  
"Ranma Saotome is the leader of this group of pirates. He is an excellent tactician..."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Sir! The Wild Horse is launching fighters! Two of them!"  
  
"Bah! Two fighters? Is that the best they have?"  
  
"Sir! The ship warped in on the other side of the freighters, so we're unable to open fire! And the fighters are still inoperable!"  
  
"Ha! What's it matter? They can't start taking the freighter's cargo with us around, now can they? Bring us close to the freighter and keep us parallel so they can't use it as a shield!"  
  
"Aye aye sir!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"...An ace fighter pilot..."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The Nest was a large, flat ship, meaning it had a lot of guns on top, and a lot on the bottom. But not many on the edge. Unfortunately for them.  
  
  
  
The Captain of the Nest growled in frustration as one of the fighters came around the helm of the long, thin freighter, and flew on their horizontal axis, which kept it safely out of the main gunners' sights. Suddenly, the fighter tipped upward, and launched a short burst of torpedoes, which quickly turned around and impacted the top of the ship, burning through the shields.  
  
  
  
The Nest jarred violently as the torpedoes struck.  
  
"Sir! Our top deflector screen is gone!"  
  
"Damn it! Can our gunners get a lock on him?"  
  
"Ummm..."  
  
*Blam!* *Blam!* *Blam!*  
  
"Er, half our front gunners are gone, sir. He made a run on top of us in the confusion."  
  
"Then tell the rest of our gunners to get him!"  
  
"Yes sir!" said the young ensign, as he turned back to the console.  
  
*Blam!* *Blam!* *Blam!*  
  
"Uh, too late sir."  
  
"DAMN IT!!!!"  
  
Wincing at the volume of the Captain's curse, the sensors officer glanced down at her screen.  
  
"Sir! The fighter is retreating! It looks like he's headed towards the nearest freighter's airlock!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"...He's also a warrior of legendary talent on the ground. Or so our reports say. Not just with blasters, but unarmed too."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Heh, if he thinks he can get past us, he's got another thing com'in."  
  
The rest of guards grunted in agreement as they aimed their weapons toward the airlock. From it, they could hear the muffled noise of a large, heavy door closing. They tightened their grip on their blaster rifles.  
  
*Fooooosh* There was a sudden rush of air as the blast doors opened, and the totally inexplicable airlock fog billowed out, obscuring the intruder from view.  
  
*Bweeooh* *bweeooh* two white bolts of light launched forth from the fog, one hitting a guard in the leg and the other missing completely.  
  
*Bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* waves of bright red light returned fire, stabbing deep into the mist. The guards stopped firing and waited. The fog cleared, and they saw... nothing. No intruder, no droid or droid remnants, no corpse, not even the weapon that had originally fired at them.  
  
  
  
Cautiously, the guards entered the airlock, looking around for some sign of the enemy. One guard looked up at the ceiling and found him. He regretted it later.  
  
  
  
*Pow!* *Thwock!* *Smash!* *Crunch!* *Bash!* *Wham!*  
  
  
  
Ranma Saotome dusted off his hands as the last of his opponents hit the ground like a bag of rocks. As he stepped out into the hallway of the ship, he wondered what kind of rewards this raid would bring.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The man at the podium pushed a button under the viewscreen, and the picture on it immediately changed. Many of the female officers pouted. Not that the man presently shown on the screen was ugly, far from it, but he just lacked the same kind of charm in his smile, which was more of a smirk than anything. He looked to be a bit older than Ranma, and a bit bigger. Not that he was fat, he was just bigger in general. He was taller, thicker, and his shoulders were wider than Ranma's. He had gray eyes and unkempt, jet black hair, and wore a heavy brown trenchcoat, complete with brown gloves and heavy black boots.  
  
  
  
"This is Rayden Shikodan, Ranma's right-hand man. He functions as your general, all-purpose soldier. He's reportedly also quite skilled in a fighter's cockpit..."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Turn the ship over! Get that docked fighter in our lower gunners' sights!"  
  
"Yes sir! Beginning manuever..."  
  
"Sir! The other fighter is approaching us at starboard!"  
  
"Quick! Bring our belly lasers to bear!"  
  
  
  
The fighter slowed as he closed the short distance between him and the larger ship. Said ship stopped turning, and then started to tilt over in order to bring him within range of the Nest's belly turrets. If the crew of the Nest could see inside that fighter's cockpit, they would have noticed that it's pilot was smiling. It wasn't a nice smile...  
  
*Zooo* *Zooo* *Zooo* *Zooo*  
  
The time that the Nest took to bring it's lower lasers to bear, plus the rate at which the fighter was closing the distance gave it's pilot plenty of time to fire off a full magazine of 8 torpedoes, two at a time. The fighter then veered off.  
  
It was a pity. They had finally turned over enough to shoot at him. At this point, all they could shoot at were the proton torpedoes heading for the remaining laser turrets.  
  
*Boom!* *boom!* *kabooooom!!*  
  
"Uh, sir? All our lasers are offline. And we're losing power. We're helpless."  
  
"Fighters still not operational. I'm sending out an emergency distress signal."  
  
The Captain wasn't listening, however. He was too busy crying.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"This man is also a ground trooper of a type we've never seen before. According to reports, he has the strength to break steel with his hands, and the constitution to take several direct blaster hits with no ill effects!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
*Kshhhhhhhhhhhh*  
  
"Hey, what's that?"  
  
One the guards watched curiously as a red light appeared above them, and then started moving.  
  
That curiosity turned to surprise as they realized that the red light was burning through the hull.  
  
As the light continued to make its way into a circle, the two guards called for help, then raised their blasters, ready to shoot whatever came through.  
  
  
  
In retrospect, they probably shouldn't have waited directly under the entry hole.  
  
*Kshhhhht* *Crash!*  
  
  
  
The two guards were instantly knocked out by the heavy disc of metal.  
  
"What the- oh. Oops." Rayden got off the piece of ship armor, and checked his blaster rifle.  
  
"There he is! Blast 'im!"  
  
*Bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh* *bweeooh*  
  
The guards grinned as they watched the bright red bolts strike their targets back.  
  
Rayden lurched forward.  
  
The guards' first clue that something was wrong was the fact that he didn't fall down. People that are dead usually fall down, and this guy had taken four direct blaster bolts in the back. He had to be dead, right?  
  
Rayden turned around and glared at them.  
  
"That hurt ya'know."  
  
The guards went very, very pale.  
  
Rayden aimed his blaster.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"The third member of this group of pirates is named Arak Tetsumi."  
  
The man at the podium again pushed the viewscreen button, and Rayden's image was replaced with another one. In contrast to Rayden, Arak was a bit shorter than both of the other pirates, and was wearing a white lab coat. He had neatly combed brown hair and bright brown eyes.  
  
"Arak is who you could call the "brains" of the group. He is a professional weapons expert and well versed in sciences of all kinds. He supplies, maintains, and upgrades the group's technology, as well as runs the main ship when the others are out in the fighters."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
*BweeeeeoooooOOOOOOO*  
  
"Finally! Systems back online!"  
  
"S'bout %!^&)!$ time! Let's go kick those guys' asses!"  
  
"What're you kidding?"  
  
"Does it sound like I'm kidding Three?!"  
  
"You don't understand Commander! That's the Wild Horse! The Wild Horse! We'll be reduced to slag in seconds!"  
  
"Look! I'm giving you a direct order!"  
  
"Then you can call this an official mutiny!"  
  
"I'm with Three!"  
  
"Yeah, me too!"  
  
"No way I'm go'in up against those guys!"  
  
"They say that these guys are real merciful to guys who give up early!"  
  
".................................... You're all a bunch of pansies! You hear me?! A BUNCH OF PINK, FLUFFY, GIRLY PANSIES!!!!! I'll show you how a real pilot acts!!  
  
  
  
With that, the lead fighter's engines roared, and he sped off toward the freighters.  
  
  
  
"........... He's a dead man."  
  
"Eh, I never liked him anyway."  
  
  
  
As the Commander of Wasp Squadron neared his target, he couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread.  
  
'Nah, must be gas. I've got to lay off the burritos.'  
  
He neared one of the fighters, which appeared to be attached to the top of the freighter's hull, when suddenly a bright white beam flashed in front of his fighter. Acting on instinct, he quickly dove, bringing the fighter out of the way of the follow-up blasts.  
  
'Hmph. I'll just take out their main ship first. Maybe that'll teach those wussies how a real man acts.'  
  
  
  
Aboard the Wild Horse, Arak was enjoying himself as he casually tried to shoot down the lone fighter that had attacked the ship. He took a sip of his soda as he swung the joystick in his hand back and forth, his forefinger keeping the "fire" button compressed.  
  
  
  
"Hmm. Not bad for a beginner." Arak mused.  
  
The fighter zoomed past, its lasers splashing harmlessly against the ship's shields.  
  
"I think I'll honor his final moments by giving him a taste of the fancy stuff."  
  
Arak kept the targeting cursor centered on the lone fighter, and then pushed a small yellow button on the side.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The speaker once again pushed a button below the viewscreen, and Arak's picture was replaced with that of the Wild Horse.  
  
  
  
"Their ship, the Wild Horse, is the most technologically advanced space vessel of its size and class. It sports the normal 693-GX hull design, but with drastically improved shields, armor, weapons, and engines. Reports also say it has several "special" systems that they unable to describe. In any case, one should engage the Wild Horse with extreme caution, as it has been known to overpower ships nearly twice its size, even without the help of the fighters.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The Commander of Wasp Group grinned as he completed his first run over the Wild Horse. That gunner was firing like he was half blind. This was gonna be a piece of cake. It was then that his console beeped. The pilot looked over at the larger ship to see a panel open up and what looked like a torpedo launcher appear. It fired off a single missile and then retracted itself.  
  
The Commander wasn't worried. Dodging torpedoes and missiles was the first thing they taught you at any flight school.  
  
The projectile streaked towards its target, a short stream of red trailing behind it. The fighter it was chasing banked to the left suddenly, causing the missile to overshoot its target. Slowly but surely it turned around, and soon it was back on the fighter's tail.  
  
The Commander merely grinned. His grin got even wider when the missile exploded.  
  
'Ha! Must have been a dud!'  
  
With that thought, he didn't even bother to look behind him, where the one missile had broken into over 30 small warheads, all headed for his ship.  
  
*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*  
  
It was overkill at its best.  
  
  
  
"See? I told him not to go."  
  
"We hear ya, Three."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Please be aware that because of the extreme danger involved in dealing with these individuals, all forces are encouraged to shoot on sight, no matter the situation. These three simple pirates have already cost empires and republics across the galaxy billions of credits. We are determined to make sure that their next heist will be their last! Dismissed!"  
  
  
  
And with that, the mass briefing of the Galactic Police Force (Not to be confused with the Galaxy Police, who have much cooler ships.) came to a close, its participants filed out of the room. One bubbly brunette chatted with her friend Namake as they exited the room.  
  
  
  
"Wow! Can you really believe that that first guy is a space pirate? I mean, he was so cute!"  
  
"Taki! What are you talking about? He's a criminal!" Namake looked at her friend in shock and disbelief.  
  
Taki just raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And you're telling me you didn't feel a single thing as your eyes traveled down his muscular body, and traced out his strong, lithe arms, met his deep blue eyes and-"  
  
"Taki! That man is a pirate! You are a police officer! What if you met him on the field of battle? Would you be shooting or swooning?" Namake asked seriously, her hands on her hips.  
  
Taki took a moment to think about it. "Neither really. I'd probably be on my knees begging 'please, please don't kill me! Let me be your love slave instead!'"  
  
Namake sweatdropped as Taki giggled.  
  
"Whatever. I'll see you later." Namake walked off.  
  
"Bye Namake! Be sure to loosen up a bit, okay? All that stress'll cause wrinkles!"  
  
Namake let out a low growl and stomped down the hallway to her ship, all the other officers giving her a wide berth.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
*Clang!* The reverberating noise of metal hitting metal sounded throughout the Wild Horse's cargo hold as Rayden dropped off the last of the crates. On the other end of the airlock, the crew of the freighter huddled in fear as the large man stepped back through, wondering whether or not they would survive.  
  
Rayden looked at the assembled group and gave them a smile. This time it was a nice smile.  
  
"Well, we're all done here. Tell the authorities all about us when they get here, okay?"  
  
The crew looked at each other in confusion, then the pilot of the freighter spoke.  
  
"So... that's it?"  
  
Rayden looked at the man and blinked. "Well... yeah. Unless you're hiding more valuables, that is."  
  
"So you aren't going to shoot us?" the pilot asked hopefully.  
  
"Or torture us?" said an engineer.  
  
"Or rape us?" asked a female civilian.  
  
Rayden blinked again, then shook his head. "Nope. Not our style."  
  
He walked once more into the airlock.  
  
  
  
"Uh, you really don't have to do this," Ranma said, scratching his head under his pigtail.  
  
"Oh no! We're happy to do it!" chorused the three female engineers as they moved the freighter's cargo into the Wild Horse. They all looked quite happy. The pilot, however...  
  
"What the hell are you doing?! They're robbing us! This is a heist! We're not supposed to help them!" He looked ready to burst a blood vessel. Or several of them.  
  
"Um, that's right girls. This is highly illegal, you know," Ranma bigsweated as one of the women flashed him a smile in response.  
  
"Oh, we don't mind at all!"  
  
"Yes, pirate or not, you're still our guest!"  
  
"And after beating up all those nasty guards and escort ships, we couldn't possibly let you steal all this by yourself! You could get hurt!"  
  
Ranma sweatdropped. The pilot fainted.  
  
  
  
Over in the cargo bay of the Wild Horse, Rayden watched Ranma as Arak went over the stolen goods.  
  
  
  
"Lessee... high explosives, energy cells, plasm conductors..." Arak counted off the different items as Rayden watched the three girls take a crate Ranma was carrying into the cargo bay themselves.  
  
"I don't know whether to feel sorry for him or jealous of him."  
  
"A bunch of unidentifiable foodstuffs, and some armor vests! This is military stuff all right! You say something Rayden?"  
  
"No, nothing. Let's pack it up and jet."  
  
"Wait! You can't just leave us!"  
  
Ranma's exit from the ship was suddenly blocked by three female bodies.  
  
"Er, why not?"  
  
"Please, take us with you!"  
  
"Even as your prisoners!"  
  
"We'll be good! We promise!"  
  
Ranma's confused look eventually turned into a frown.  
  
"Now look here, ladies-"  
  
Ranma looked up and gulped as he saw three pairs of watery eyes staring at him.  
  
"Pleeeeaaaaassssse?"  
  
  
  
Arak rolled his eyes. "The gutsiest fighter in the Universe... and his spine turns to jello whenever a girl sheds a tear."  
  
Rayden smiled. "C'mon, we need to rescue our leader from his admirers again."  
  
  
  
Ranma was in a state of panic, and wondering what to do, when suddenly he found himself uncerimoniously yanked into the airlock just as the blast doors closed.  
  
  
  
The three women stared at the doors for a moment, then started pouting.  
  
"Oh poo!"  
  
  
  
Aboard the Wild Horse, Ranma's companions were having a grand time laughing at Ranma's blushing face. That is, until Ranma punched Rayden into one of the walls. Arak was smart enough to shut up right then.  
  
  
  
Ranma regained his composure, then calmly questioned Arak.  
  
"Okay, so what'd we get?"  
  
Arak grinned. "We hit gold this time Captain. We're talking fully functional, military hardware fresh from the factories."  
  
Ranma nodded. That was a good catch.  
  
"I wonder why it wasn't more heavily guarded though," he mused.  
  
"Probably with all the wars escalating amongst the different powers around here, they couldn't spare more ships to guard a freighter that wasn't going near the front line," responded Rayden, after he had removed his head from the wall.  
  
"I guess that makes sense." Ranma grinned. "Maybe we should do a little cleaning up after some of the major battles around here."  
  
"You mean swoop in a after a battle and steal whatever's left?" Rayden asked.  
  
"It'll be risky." Arak mused.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "So? That's never stopped us before." At that, Ranma turned toward the window, and looked out into space. "But first, a vacation!"  
  
Arak and Rayden looked at each other. "A vacation?" they asked in perfect synchronozation.  
  
Ranma turned back toward them and smiled.  
  
  
  
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End Chapter 1  
  
Comments? Questions? Rants? Flames? Donations? Contact me at revcoll@peoplepc.com 


	2. Escape from Paradise

Supernova  
  
Chapter 2  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. Crossovers and characters will be used at my discretion. Don't bother trying to threaten me or sue me, 'cause I won't listen. La la la, I can't hear you...  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Escape from Paradise  
  
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"Whoa, you were serious when you mentioned a vacation?" Rayden stared in awe at the planet's landscape as the Wild Horse flew above the buildings. They were currently flying over the planet Triar, nicknamed "Paradise" by the local inhabitants and businesses there. It was, essentially, a resort planet, with much of the land being turned into huge, extravagant hotels with several buildings for shopping and recreation. Because the only land masses on the planet were islands, it also provided the planet's populace and visitors with plenty of beaches.  
  
"Of course I was serious. You thought I was lying?" Ranma asked, his eyebrow raised.  
  
"Huh? No. This is just so unlike you. I thought that maybe we'd be here to destroy this resort company and take all the money." Rayden gave Ranma a questioning look.  
  
"Hmm. Maybe later. For now, let's all get some down time!"  
  
Rayden and Arak looked at each other, then shrugged.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
*Sigh* The young security guard sighed and slowly pulled himself off of the bench he had been sitting on. Being a security guard on Triar had about the same amount of career excitement as staring up at the sky all day to see if it starts to rain.  
  
It was true. It seemed that even the criminals only came to Triar with relaxation in mind. Nobody ever tried to smuggle in weapons or drugs.  
  
Yet even he had to admit that guards were necessary. Especially with all the starship thefts on the platforms.  
  
But it seems that no matter how many guards they have, not a single person is apprehended or even caught in the act.  
  
He was so busy thinking about this and ignoring the arrival of the next ship that he didn't even get a look at it until it set down.  
  
His face went pale and his jaw went slack.  
  
  
  
"T-th-th-tha-th-tha-that-th-th-tha-that's-th-that's th-"  
  
The man was stuttering so badly that he didn't notice the men that had left the ship until one of them tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"That's the Wild Horse!" He yelled in recognition of the spacecraft.  
  
"No, it's the Red Crow," said a calm and tired voice.  
  
The guard directed his gaze toward the voice and then reeled backward in shock.  
  
"Y-you're R-Ranma Saotome!" The guards crawled backward as he said this, ready to run for help.  
  
"No, I'm... somebody else."  
  
The guard stopped crawling backwards and gave Ranma a skeptical look.  
  
"Somebody else?"  
  
"Um... I'm uh... Jackie Chan! That's it!"  
  
The guard got up off the floor and gave Ranma (duh, you knew it was him) a look.  
  
"Really? You look a lot like Ranma, the famous space pirate. I think I'll have to take you in and ask you a few questions, sir." The guard turned around and began to walk out of the hangar when a strong, iron grip held him in place. He looked over his shoulder to see "Jackie Chan" glaring at him.  
  
"Now you look here," Ranma began, "me and my crew have traveled a long way to get here, and will not tolerate this kind of welcome. We came here to relax, not to be questioned because I happen to look like a wanted criminal!"  
  
The guard gulped and nodded rapidly. "Of course, of course! Go right on through! I apologize Mr. Chan!"  
  
Ranma stared down at the guard the way a lion looks down at a wounded antelope. The guard suddenly wondered if maybe he could get another job; guard duty was suddenly far too stressful for him.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
The guard subconciously wiped the sweat off his brow, then turned towards the ship. He saw the other two men and immediately did a double-take.  
  
The larger one noticed his reaction, then spoke.  
  
"Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, we're not Arak and Rayden, Ranma's partners in crime."  
  
The gaurd looked at them and suddenly developed a bad twitch in his left eye. "No, of course not."  
  
  
  
The three walked through the weapons detector, and then out of the hangar. Rayden turned to Ranma.  
  
"So, should one of us kill that guy back there?"  
  
Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head.  
  
"Nah, why bother when the guy'll probably have a heart attack before the day is out?"  
  
"Or worse, if he tries to inspect the ship." Arak said as he glanced at the various billboards and advertisements.  
  
"Anyway," Ranma continued, "we came here to relax, not to kill or destroy or steal or kidnap or any of those things." Ranma clapped his hands together and rubbed them in anticipation. "For a whole week we'll have nothing but the best living quarters, food, and alcohol within 5,000 lightyears, so let's sit back and enjoy it!"  
  
Rayden and Arak gave each other a high-five, then yelled an enthusiastic agreement.  
  
"Hear hear!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Ah, now this is the life."  
  
Ranma sighed in contentment as he laid back down on his big, plush pillow, and opened his mouth just as one of the girls lifted the wine glass to his lips.  
  
  
  
The whole room was like that. Gold platters covered in the remaining scraps of food, jewel encrusted wine glasses full of liquor, and seven girls in Arabian slave-dancer costumes to hand feed them. The resort that Ranma and his group were staying at was intended only for the super-rich, and for at least 6 more days, Ranma fit that description perfectly.  
  
  
  
"So then I had to detonate the bomb anyway, and got caught in the blast. Man did that hurt." Rayden leaned back and took a long sip from his wine glass, as one of the girls around him giggled.  
  
"Wow, Mel Gibson, you're so strong!"  
  
Rayden grinned and downed another cup of liquor.  
  
  
  
"And then I only had two seconds to upload the vital DUI data! If I wasn't able to program the computer to reroute the shield system, our ship would've surely been destroyed!"  
  
Arak continued with his story, ignoring the two young ladies sound asleep at his sides. Despite his best efforts to keep the story interesting, his stories about computer hacking still lacked the excitement of Rayden's tales. But he didn't mind. Having two shapely young women asleep in your lap was enough for him.  
  
  
  
"Another drink, Mr. Chan?"  
  
  
  
Everyone in the room, including the previously sleeping girls, turned to the sound of the voice, a busty older woman in a revealing bikini.  
  
Rayden arched an eyebrow. Arak suddenly forgot how to decode a TIF helix code. Ranma smiled.  
  
"Sure, I'll take another glass."  
  
The woman held a gold platter, and on it, three drinks of odd coloration.  
  
Rayden and Arak got up and got a glass, and one of the girls next to Ranma got up and took the glass from the woman, then held it up to Ranma's lips. She was very startled when Ranma's hand shot out and grabbed the cup, spilling a bit of the liquid on himself.  
  
"Don't drink it," Ranma commanded in a firm, cold voice. Arak and Rayden immediately set their cups down. Ranma turned a hard stare towards the woman.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
The three girls sitting next to him suddenly scooted away. The woman gulped at the ice in his voice, and slowly responded.  
  
"It's a glass of special wine from the front desk. As a thank you to our guests that use this room, management sends up some special liquor."  
  
Ranma stared into the cup. "So they did. Mel, drink it."  
  
Rayden blinked, then shrugged. "Yessir." He lifted the glass to his lips, then swallowed the whole thing in one gulp.  
  
Rayden licked his lips. "Yep, it's poisoned."  
  
At this, the woman went wide-eyed, and all the girls started to inch away from the three men.  
  
Ranma turned a hard glare toward the woman, and she immediately started spouting excuses.  
  
"B-but, Mr. Saotome sir! I h-had n-no idea it was poisoned! Really!"  
  
Ranma dissolved his glare and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Saotome? What happened to Mr. Chan?"  
  
The woman slapped both her hands over her mouth, then moved them, at the same time muttering "Oops."  
  
The other girls were now all crowded around her, staring at the assembled men in abject horror.  
  
Ranma stood up. "Well now, I'm very disappointed. I was hoping to have stayed at a nice, assassin-free hotel."  
  
The assembled females gulped as he picked up a glass of normal wine and took a short sip.  
  
"Don't do it again."  
  
The assembled females blinked.  
  
"Wh-what" stuttered the woman in the bikini.  
  
Ranma stared at her. "I said, 'don't do it again'. If you do, I might have to hurt you." He smiled as he took another sip of wine. "And I wouldn't want to have to do that."  
  
"So... you're not going to kill us?"  
  
Ranma shrugged. "What would be the point?"  
  
"Um, well... your partner did drink the poison..."  
  
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. He has a liver like durasteel."  
  
Rayden smiled as he drank the other two cups of poison. "I've got stronger stuff in the liquor cabinet back on the ship!"  
  
The girls all sweatdropped, then quickly filed out of the room.  
  
The three men looked at each other, then let out a sigh.  
  
"Women." They all said as one.  
  
  
  
"Wow, I can't believe they let us just walk out of there unharmed!"  
  
The woman in the bikini silenced the other with a glare.  
  
"Yes, we are lucky. Now we must report this."  
  
"Do we have to? I mean, we're not really done up there."  
  
The woman blinked, then turned to the girls. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well..." the girl started, "we still owe them back massages!"  
  
*Crash* the woman facefaulted.  
  
"Yeah, it's part of our spa therapy program!"  
  
"Why are you worrying about that now?!"  
  
"Well, I just think we should finish up while they're not going to kill us. They're a lot nicer and sexier than all those fat, ugly merchants we're usually dealing with."  
  
The girls all nodded in agreement. The bikini woman hit the speaker in the head.  
  
"We are not going back up there! We are dealing with criminals, remember that!"  
  
The group of women piled into the elevator before one of them asked another question.  
  
"But aren't we criminals for trying to kill them?"  
  
The sounds of violence echoed throughout the hotel.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"So, what should we do now?' Arak asked as he removed the emptied food platters.  
  
Ranma thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "First thing to do is get to another hotel."  
  
Rayden glanced over from the entertainment viewscreen where he was watching a documentary on space eels. "Do you think that'll help?"  
  
Ranma looked at him, then sighed heavily. "No, probably not, but maybe we'll find a place where the employees won't willingly assist the assassins."  
  
Rayden chuckled. "You know, most wanted criminals would get nervous after someone tried to kill them and probably cut their vacation short."  
  
Ranma smiled. "Yeah, but we're not like most wanted criminals, are we?"  
  
Arak finished putting away the empty food plates and started packing up his things.  
  
"No, most criminals are sane. Except for the murderers and mad scientists, of course."  
  
"And don't forget stalkers!" chimed in Rayden.  
  
Ranma let out a short laugh. "Remember that girl who tried to stalk Luke Skywalker?"  
  
Rayden suddenly burst out laughing. "She didn't do very well, did she?"  
  
Ranma began laughing again and soon Arak joined in. "I heard she broke down crying when she learned she couldn't get within thirty meters of him without being spotted, yelling 'it's just not fair! Damn the force!'"  
  
  
  
They continued laughing for about three more minutes, before they sobered up and then looked at each other, somber expressions on their faces.  
  
  
  
"Shoot, we do need a vacation." Rayden was the first to speak.  
  
"No kidding," Ranma agreed.  
  
"Heck, when we start laughing at something like that, let's skip stress reduction and go straight for neurotherapy," Arak concluded.  
  
Ranma thought it over, then shook his head. "The last time we tried that, the doctor tried to fry Rayden's brain."  
  
Arak thought that over. "Oh yeah. I guess that would be a problem."  
  
Rayden finished packing, and locked up his suitcase. "You ever worry that too many people want us dead?"  
  
Ranma once again stopped to think, then turned back towards his friend. "No, not really."  
  
*Vrrrrrrrrrr* *thunk*  
  
Ranma and his crew looked towards the source of the noises, to see a thick metal sheet closing over the windows and doors.  
  
*Pssssssshhhhhhhhht*  
  
The sound of gas being leaked into the room was very apparent.  
  
Ranma looked around him and blinked. "Then again, maybe."  
  
Arak quickly wet a sheet and tore into three pieces, handing it to each of his companions.  
  
Ranma took the sheet and gestured toward Rayden. "Rayden, make us some air holes."  
  
Rayden took the wet cloth and walked toward one of the windows. "Yes sir."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Oh yes, this is wonderful!" exclaimed the happy young woman, as she looked out at the sprawling city below. It was brightly lit, and exuded a feeling of relaxation, unlike the ugly, industrial look of Coruscant or Drelmin.  
  
Her fiancee walked up and slipped his arms around her as they gazed out from the balcony of their hotel room.  
  
"It is, isn't it," he whispered into his ear as she blushed.  
  
*Clang!* *Clang!*  
  
They both blinked, then looked up in time to see two large, heavily dented metal plates fall from the room above them, followed by a short shower of glass. They looked down to see the people below scatter just before the objects hit, kicking up dirt and concrete.  
  
His fiancee held him close. "Wh-what's going on?" she asked fearfully.  
  
He looked up to the room above to see two large holes where the room's windows used to be. There was a thick, purple smoke of some sort escaping from the windows and rising into the sky.  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
  
  
Inside the room above, one would expect the situation to be panicked. Actually, it was far from it. The gas that was supposed to kill the room's inhabitants rose harmlessly to the ceiling, and then flowed out the new "windows". Given that this was a super deluxe luxury suite, the ceiling was fairly high, so Ranma and company had little trouble avoiding the fumes. Ranma was currenlty finishing his packing, as Arak and Rayden stood by, awaiting orders. Ranma would've been whistling a tune if he didn't have a wet cloth over his nose and mouth.  
  
Ranma locked up his suitcase, then turned towards an unopened suitcase and broke the lock in his hand.  
  
Rayden and Arak glanced at each other, then smiled. So, he was going to use that.  
  
Ranma slid the suitcase towards Arak and nodded, then he turned towards the phone and dialed the number for the front desk. He removed the cloth from his face.  
  
"Hello, I'd like to report a bomb in the building... Yes, I'm positive. It's on the 24th floor and will detonate in 15 minutes. I suggest you evacuate the building." Ranma turned towards Arak and Rayden. "Well, you heard me. Now get going!"  
  
They nodded, and Arak picked up the bomb as Rayden opened the door with a powerful kick. They hadn't bothered to bring their normal armaments with them, as it would take a lot of time and resources to get them all through the detectors, but they had to take something with them, in case of an emergency like this one. So, Ranma had picked out one of Arak's special explosives.  
  
Arak and Rayden left, Rayden toting their luggage with him. Ranma picked up his own bags and jumped out the window.  
  
  
  
The man peered up at the room above them, trying to figure out what could possibly be happening. His eyes widened as he saw someone jump out of the hole in the building and he stumbled backwards, nearly knocking over his fiancee. The man landed on the balcony, upright and unharmed.  
  
[Shoot, I forgot about the balconies. I was trying to get to the street.]  
  
Ranma turned to the couple, and quickly bowed.  
  
"Sorry about that. It was an accident, really."  
  
The woman steadied herself behind the man and then angrily turned to face Ranma.  
  
"Sorry? SORRY?! It's- um... no trouble at all."  
  
Ranma smiled at her. "Oh, that's good to hear."  
  
As the woman swooned, her fiacee quickly got very angry.  
  
"You there! What to you think you're doing?!"  
  
The woman turned to her fiancee. "Oh, you're still here?"  
  
Ranma smiled again, this time to the man.  
  
"Sorry about this. I'll be on my way now. By the way, there's a bomb in this hotel, so I suggest you get out. See ya!"  
  
The woman yelled out as Ranma jumped over the edge of the balcony and out to the street, which was still a good 70 feet below.  
  
"No, wait! Don't jump!"  
  
  
  
Many people on the ground were quit surprised when a man carrying two large suitcases fell out of the sky and onto the street. Many more were surprised when he didn't go *splat* when he landed, completely unhurt, and smiling. But the most people were surprised when a huge rush of people, many of them badly panicking and some not fully dressed, came running out of the hotel as if their lives depended on it. Which is understandable, because their lives did depend on it.  
  
  
  
Two police officers arrived to help traffic out of the hotel.  
  
"There has been a bomb threat! The security of the building has been compromised! All civilians are to leave the area in a calm and orderly manner!"  
  
  
  
Rayden and Arak met up with Ranma as they made their way through the crowd. They backed off to where a crowd of people were watching and waited. Ranma looked at his his watch, counting off the seconds until the scheduled explosion.  
  
"6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow as Rayden and Arak started sweating nervously.  
  
*KAAABOOOOOM!!!!*  
  
The middle of the hotel exploded outward, and a shockwave traveled through the entire foundation, causing the building to collapse in on itself. Rayden blinked, then checked his watch as the dust settled.  
  
"Oops. My bad. Chrono's slow." Arak facefaulted. Ranma just shrugged.  
  
"Oh well, so much for our first day of vacation. Now we need to find another hotel." Ranma took out a brochure and started walking down the street.  
  
"I hope the next one doesn't hire assassins," said Arak as he followed.  
  
"Yeah, we only brought one bomb." Arak facefaulted again.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"So this is what's it's like to actually relax at a beach," Rayden looked around, and decided that he liked it. The only other time he'd been on a beach was when they were salvaging a wrecked ship, and that didn't leave him much time to sit down and enjoy it.  
  
"So Arak, about how much do you think that this place is worth?" Ranma gestured to the gigantic hotel behind them.  
  
"Offhand... I'd say around 8 million credits. Why?"  
  
"Oh, just in case we come back and decide to threaten to blow this place up."  
  
*Gulp*  
  
Ranma turned at the quiet noise, to see one of the beach waitresses nervously putting down his drink. Upon seeing she'd been noticed, she quickly turned to scurry away.  
  
"Stop."  
  
The word seemed to paralyze the woman, and she felt a chill down her spine as Ranma took hold of her hand...... and dropped a stack of coins in it.  
  
"Wha-"  
  
"Your tip. Don't spend it all in one place."  
  
Ranma smiled as the woman looked at him confusedly and then ran off with the money. He turned toward Rayden.  
  
"They're cute when they're afraid for their lives, aren't they?"  
  
Rayden chuckled.  
  
  
  
Ranma sighed as he leaned back in his beach chair, just relaxing like anyone else on the beach. He took a sip of his soda. He watched a group of kids play volleyball. He leaned his head to the side as a blaster bolt zipped by...  
  
Ranma frowned as Rayden and Arak fell out of their chairs in surprise. A blaster bolt?  
  
Ranma sat up, avoiding another laser that put a hole in his lounge chair.  
  
Ranma calmly walked toward the group of guards who were looking around frantically for the sniper. He stopped halfway, allowing another blast to hit the sand.  
  
One of the guards stopped and stared as Ranma approached him, casually ducking to avoid a laser bolt. He walked up to him, took a step back to avoid another bolt, then pointed to the guard's blaster.  
  
"May I borrow that please?"  
  
The man was so confused that he handed over his gun without a word.  
  
Ranma twirled the blaster around in his hand, pointed it quickly towards the hotel, and fired.  
  
The rest of the guards blinked as a scream of pain echoed from one of the distant hotel balconies, and a body fell down to the beach.  
  
Ranma looked at his handiwork and frowned, handing the gun back to the guard.  
  
"Hmm. Hit him in the leg. My eyesight must be going."  
  
The guard was too shocked to disagree.  
  
  
  
Ranma walked back toward his friends, who had started up a game of cards during all the commotion.  
  
"You get him?" Rayden asked, not looking up.  
  
"Yeah. I think somebody here is determined to kill us. If we want to enjoy the rest of our vacation, we should probably find out who they are and pay them a visit."  
  
Arak nodded as he put down another card. "That we should."  
  
"But for now..." Ranma snapped his fingers at a nearby waitress, "another cola over here!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"You said you have the Wild Horse?" Chief of the police, officer Takenza, excitedly asked the docking manager, Mr. Tai. He wasn't so excited because this was his chance to arrest some very wanted criminals, but because the Wild Horse was a very advanced ship. Contrary to what one would think, the chief was there to assist in the theft of several spacecraft. The Triar Syndicate, which commonly worked for much larger criminal organizations, had agents in every level of government and planetary security. For the last 12 years, they had been stealing ships from wealthy tourists right under their noses.  
  
"Hello Mr. Tai, Officer Takenza," the guard waved to each of them casually, then went back to looking for criminals who would steal the docked space ships.  
  
  
  
The two men entered the hangar and beheld the ship before them.  
  
"It seems awfully big for just three people, huh?" Tai chuckled at his observation, then turned serious.  
  
"Which reminds me, did you take care of its former owners? Anyone else we would just tell that their ship was stolen, but these guys are smarter than that. And I really don't want to get on their bad side."  
  
"Don't worry about, I've got my best men on the job. Now let's take this ship."  
  
Takenza took out a keypad, then pushed a combination of buttons on it. The door to the Wild Horse opened, and the polic chief walked in.  
  
  
  
[Now let's see, where's that bridge?] Takenza thought to himself as he walked into the hull of the ship. Suddenly, a thin viewscreen lowered itself from the ceiling to right in front of him. The viewscreen activated, to show a picture of a red sensor lens on a steel gray background. Takenza blinked.  
  
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF," the senor lens asked.  
  
Takenza blinked again, and then backed off slightly, only to bump into something. Looking behind him, he found two floating orbs with a red sensor each that matched the one on the viewscreen. He turned back to the viewscreen and spoke.  
  
"Who-what are you?"  
  
"I AM RAC, WILD HORSE SENTIENT COMPUTER SYSTEM. YOU ARE AN INTRUDER. IDENTIFY YOURSELF."  
  
"Er....... I'm police chief Takenza, and this ship is being confiscated for-"  
  
"UNACCEPTABLE."  
  
"Is that so? What are you going to do about it?"  
  
At that moment, two autoguns popped out of the ceiling, and aimed at Takenza.  
  
"HAVE A NICE DAY."  
  
*Rattattattattattattatta*  
  
  
  
At the sound of gunfire, Mr. Tai was about to go investigate the ship himself, when the entry hatch closed by itself. Also, he noted, the primary turbolaser mounted right under the head of the ship had just turned toward him...  
  
*Scree* *Kroom!*  
  
Tai was disintigrated instantly.  
  
The guard, who had already had way too much excitement that week, entered at the sound of a laser cannon being fired, to find the main turbolaser battery aiming at him.  
  
He froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.  
  
Then an electronic-sounding voice came from the ship.  
  
"ESTIMATED THREAT: MINIMAL. YOUR DESTRUCTION IS NOT YET NECESSARY. YOU DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING HERE. TURN AROUND AND WALK AWAY."  
  
The guard's legs suddenly unlocked, and he immediately left to write his resignation letter.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Police captain Garrat checked his watch and sighed for what had to be the 148th time since the chief left. He once again started fiddling with his communicator, expecting it to beep at any moment. Takenza had been ordered to contact him when he had taken the Wild Horse, and give Garrat a report on the sort of stuff that was inside. Given that the ship belonged to one of the most powerful and successful pirates in the galaxy, it was expected that the cargo alone would be worth more than half of the Triar Syndicate.  
  
But Takenza hadn't called back! Where was he?!  
  
He could be out joyriding in the ship... no, he would never do anything so foolish. It had taken a lot of effort to keep the "real" police from finding out about Ranma's presence on Triar, and Takenza wouldn't risk being spotted in the middle of a heist.  
  
  
  
*Beep* "Sir, Mr. Hiryu is here to see you."  
  
Garrat puched the button on the speaker linked to his secretary's desk, "Yes, send him in."  
  
  
  
Mr. Hiryu, to many of the officers he passed on his way to meet the captain and chief, was a government agent who occasionally stopped by to give special orders to Takenza.  
  
In fact, he was the leader of a group of assassins who occasionally stopped by to recieve special orders from Takenza.  
  
  
  
Garrat smiled warmly, then opened a suitcase to reveal several stacks of credits inside. Hiryu looked expressionlessly at the cash, and then raised his head to look at the captain.  
  
  
  
"Where's Takenza?"  
  
"He's... acquiring a cerain item, now that its former owner is no longer of this world. I assume you took care of him?"  
  
Hiryu looked at him for a moment, then answered as he reached for the briefcase.  
  
"No, not yet."  
  
The briefcase slammed shut. Hiryu looked up to find Garrat glaring at him.  
  
"The deal was cash on delivery. If you don't deliver, you don't get the cash."  
  
Hiryu slammed his hand on the table, causing the whole thing to shake.  
  
"Don't you give me that! This guy ain't like all those pathetic rich losers or politicians we've had to take care of before. Ranma's different."  
  
Garrat just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh please. Just snipe the fool."  
  
"Tried that. He avoided 5 shots before firing back with a normal blaster carbine and hitting our guy on the first shot."  
  
Garrat blinked. "Okay, so kill him in his sleep."  
  
"Tried that last night. Our guy came back with lots of bruises and cracked bones, claiming that Saotome fought him off in his sleep."  
  
Garrat raised an eyebrow. "Is your organization truly so pathetic?"  
  
Hiryu glared at him, and then replied flatly. "Saotome's like nothing we've had to deal with before. He's stronger, faster, tougher, smarter, and a better shot than any agents we've got."  
  
"And don't you forget it!"  
  
  
  
The two men turned, and then went pale as they found Ranma in the corner of the office. He was wearing his "I know something you don't want me to know" grin.  
  
Hiryu tried to draw his blaster, but had it grabbed away from him before he could take aim. Ranma quickly put the gun up to the man's neck and fired.  
  
The police captain paled further as Hiryu's corpse hit the floor, then quickly tried to calm himself. Ranma looked at him and smiled.  
  
"Well well well, I was wondering why the police would hire assassins to take care of me. That is, until I found out your little secret."  
  
Garrat tried to avoid paling further and clasped his hands together in front of him. Then he spoke in what he hoped was a controlled tone of voice.  
  
"So, you're still alive. I'm impressed. I'd like to ask if you'd be interested in a position in our little organization."  
  
Ranma laughed. "Well, let me think... you tried to kill me several times, you ruined my vacation, you made me come all the way up here just so I could take care of all of it...... hmm, I'd say no."  
  
"Talent like yours is hard to come by, except maybe in Jedi Knights, it'd be a shame to have to kill you."  
  
Ranma laughed again. "Now there's an empty threat if I've ever heard one. Besides, if I wanted to have a position in an organization, I wouldn't choose one as small and pathetic as this."  
  
With that, Ranma tore the whole desk up from the floor and tossed it into the wall, preventing Garrat from hitting the hidden button that would've alerted the entire force to that room. Garrat gulped.  
  
"So you're going to kill me?"  
  
Ranma smiled again. "No, I think that punishment for all your other evil deeds will be enough."  
  
Ranma took out a communicator and pushed the button.  
  
"Arak, give them the tape."  
  
Garrat smirked. "How quaint. No doubt it's a tape holding all the proof of my involvement in the Syndicate that you're handing over to the authorities?"  
  
"Not just your involvement. Arak found it rather easy to hack into your files. Oh, and we're not giving it to the authorities."  
  
Garrat blinked. "You're not?"  
  
"No, I'm sure that nearly everyone with the authority to process the information is working for you, and that officers that supply that information have a habit of mysteriously 'disappearing'. So I'm putting it where it will do the most good. The press."  
  
Garrat paled. Again. Most sheets would have been jealous by now.  
  
Ranma picked up the suitcase full of credits and made his way to the window.  
  
"Yup, by tomorrow, everyone with a shred of creditibility will either be ratting you out or investigating you."  
  
Ranma gave a last smile as he opened the window. "You messed with the wrong guy, captain."  
  
He jumped.  
  
  
  
The police captain, who, by next week, would be locked up in prison for life, fell back into his chair like he was made of lead.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma, Rayden, and Arak made their way into the hangar, carrying their luggage behind them. They stopped in front of the Wild Horse, and Ranma called out to it.  
  
  
  
"Yo Rac, anything happen while we were gone?"  
  
The entry ramp lowered itself, and the ship answered.  
  
"WE HAD TWO INTRUDERS. ONE WAS IDENTIFIED AS POLICE CHIEF RONALD TOKENZA. THE OTHER WAS UNABLE TO BE IDENTIFIED BECAUSE THERE WERE NO REMAINS."  
  
Ranma blinked and turned towards a spot in the hangar.  
  
"So that's what the big black mark is!"  
  
The three proceeded into the ship.  
  
"Rac! You didn't even get rid of the body?! It stinks in here!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma sat down on the bridge of the Wild Horse and sighed. They had come here for a vacation, and all they did was blow up a hotel, kill a few people, break up a small crime ring, and steal a couple thousand credits. True, they had fun, but he had come here to relax.  
  
Rayden turned to him. "So where to now?"  
  
Ranma looked at him for a moment, then called out to the computer.  
  
"Rac, figure a course for Coruscant."  
  
Arak turned a questioning look toward his leader. "We're going to Coruscant?"  
  
"Yeah, but first, we'd better make a little stop."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
A young man exited a building, whistling to himself as he pocketed a wad of credits. His whistling started to slow, and then he stopped all together, as he watched a bright blue streak head toward the bank he just walked out of. There was an Earth-jarring shake as the proton torpedo impacted, spraying duracrete and metal everywhere. Then a large, red ship descended quickly from the clouds, its laser cannons tearing up the side of the bank. The young man thanked the gods that he already made his withdrawal and proceeded to run for his life.  
  
  
  
Aboard the bridge of the Wild Horse, Ranma and his friends were just getting back into the spirit of pirating again.  
  
"Rac! Bring up the blueprints of that building!"  
  
At Ranma's request, one of the floating spheres hovered nearby and generated a hologram of the bank's structure.  
  
"Adjust firing angle by 38 degrees port, and break through that safe wall! Rayden, get ready to load the credits into the cargo bay!"  
  
"I'm reading two corvettes coming at our flank!" Arak yelled.  
  
Ranma responded. "Lock turrets 8 through 11 onto those ship on their approach! Feed power from the forward deflector screen into the weapons systems and prepare to fire the hyper laser!"  
  
  
  
Outside, the spectators watched in awe and fear as the Wild Horse started trading fire with the desperately outmatched corvettes, which were trying to buy time for the cruisers to arrive. A rather large hatch popped open beneath one of the Wild Horse's wings, and an oversized beam cannon popped out. The barrel glowed briefly, and then a hot, yellow, continuous beam shot out of it, digging deep into the armored bank safe. Soon it carved a reasonably sized hole in the thick metal wall, and the laser retracted itself as the other turrets directed their fire on the incoming ships.  
  
Soon the Wild Horse landed, still firing at the ships, which had lost shields and were starting to catch fire in various places.  
  
Two minutes later the light frigate was airborn again, and rising past the smoldering wrecks that used to be modified Corellian Corvettes.  
  
Everyone below thought that the pirates were certain to be caught when they started to see the outline of three light cruisers through the clouds. Then the Wild Horse disappeared.  
  
  
  
Back on the bridge......  
  
"Cloaking device engaged. We're outta here!" Arak exclaimed.  
  
"They can't risk firing down without missing and hitting something below. Score."  
  
Ranma laughed and took out some bottles. "This calls for a celebration!"  
  
Rayden quickly filled his glass and swallowed it in one gulp. "Now this is how to reduce stress!"  
  
Ranma lifted his glass. "To the Republic!"  
  
"To the Republic!"  
  
"To the Empire!"  
  
"............... Which one?"  
  
"Um, Jurian!"  
  
"To the Jurian Empire!"  
  
"To the Confederacy!"  
  
"To the Confederacy!"  
  
"And...... to our pocketbooks!"  
  
"TO OUR POCKETBOOKS!!!!!"  
  
There was much rejoicing.  
  
  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
Comments? Questions? Rants? Flames? Donations? Contact me at revcoll@peoplepc.com 


	3. Missiles, Guns, and Everything Fun

Supernova  
  
Chapter 3  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. Don't sue me, yadda yadda yadda, I don't make any money doing this. And if I did, you could be sure I wouldn't tell you. This is a Ranma 1/2 fanfiction, terribly twisted and warped by my imagination, which is mostly George Lucas's fault, so you're gonna see a lot of Star Wars type stuff. Other crossover/fusions will happen at my discretion.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Missiles, Guns, and Everything Fun  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
Another boring day at the Daviorn space station.  
  
  
  
The Daviorn space station was a huge metal platform put into use as a storage bunker and naval repair base during the times of the Old Republic. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the base was condemned shortly after its construction due a star going nova nearby, creating a new asteroid field and a whole slew of hyperspace complications. The base was eventually purchased by an old merchant, who, ironically, died in an asteroid incident trying to get to his new piece of real estate.  
  
Since then, the platform had been inhabited by a number of retiring space- farers and adventurers, as well as a few rouges who wanted someplace out of the way to relax and drink up. Eventually, Daviorn had been retrofitted and expanded, becoming a small rest-and-repair stop of sorts. It had bars, ship docks, a huge scrap yard, a few trading posts, and a few workshops and laboratories. It was considered a neutral zone of sorts, fights of any kind were quickly broken up and the participants thrown out (whether they were thrown out of the bar or the airlock was up to the manager).  
  
The police generally avoided the area, knowing full well that they were not among the many "welcome" folks. Some had considered moving in several police units and doing a full search of the place, as single officers tended to come back with nothing to report, but the idea was simply ridiculous, seeing how anyone that'd been there could point out that any and all criminals there were just small time losers who had to watch out for the police or bounty hunters for a while. There were certainly no crooks worth such an expensive and time-consuming operation hanging out in Daviorn.  
  
They would be wrong. Duh.  
  
Still, a typical day consisted of a new drifter wandering into the station and bringing in a new story about his exploits and heroic deeds. After a good mug of Corellian brandy, of course. So one could imagine how a boring day would be.  
  
  
  
Kerra Fire sighed as she pushed the button which moved her piece into another square on the holographic game table, cornering the computer's vital piece and winning the game. Computers were supposed to be nearly unbeatable at such analytical strategy games as this, but when you spend over 6 hours of every day playing, you can only expect to get better.  
  
  
  
Another boring day at the Daviorn space station.  
  
  
  
Kerra was SO bored, that she almost missed the bright red reflection off the shiny surface of her holographic projector. She turned around and her eyes widened in shock.  
  
Flying by the window was a large red spacecraft, shaped like a bird with a huge belly and no talons or beak, with its wings lowered as if to hide its vast bulk. Its head was a rounded bulge that stood up out of the rest of the structure, and a blue transparisteel dome over the bridge.  
  
Kerra's hand trembled over the hologram control panel, as realization dawned on her.  
  
[That's the Wild Horse!]  
  
Truth be told, the fabled frigate had seen better days. Two of its six engines were dimmed and non-functional, its hull had several visible fissures, and the entire thing was covered in burns easily identified as the result of heavy turbolaser fire. Lurking behind the ship was a long freighter, matching the Wild Horse's pace perfectly. The freighter didn't look too bad, with only a few laser burns and all of its escape pods jettisoned.  
  
As the spacecraft slowly made its way into the thick of the scrapyard, Kerra's brain made an incredible revelation.  
  
[Wild Horse here = My boyfriend is back!]  
  
Well, technically he wasn't her boyfriend. Technically, they had never slept together, or kissed, or gone on a date, or even had a romantic conversation. Technically, Ranma had made it perfectly clear that he simply wasn't interested in Kerra that way. But guys liked to play hard to get, right? So they were practically lovers!  
  
With that, she ran to get to the "special" hangar as fast as she could.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The Wild Horse was classified as a light frigate for its size. While this didn't sound at all impressive compared to heavy cruisers, Super Star Destroyers, and Death Stars, it was a huge ship considering the size of its crew.  
  
A standard Nebulon B frigate was bigger and more heavily armed than a modified dreadnought. Although it was one of the smaller capital ships designed and put to use, it still required a minimal crew of 12 bridge personnel just to get from point A to point B and operate shields. That didn't include gunners, mechanics, troops, a medical crew, or even the captain.  
  
The Wild Horse was a VERY heavily modified 693-GX light frigate, more complex than a large Mon Calamari cruiser, and sported a crew of 3. Usually those three weren't even on the bridge, as they all had better things to do than sit around staring into space and hoping they don't get crushed by a passing comet. Therefore, other arrangements had to be made.  
  
  
  
Rac was the most advanced computer system ever built (or so Arak said), and generally could run the entire ship himself. This had been a HUGE time-saver.  
  
While it was a light frigate, the Wild Horse was actually more massive than most normal frigates, having gone through a complete redesigning by Arak. They only needed quarters for three people, so that had left a LOT of room. Yet not a square foot was wasted. Many of the quarters that would have held other people were reverted into luxury rooms such as a large bath, training area, workshop, and lab. Some rooms had been left as they were in case they ever needed to "accomodate" guests(/prisoners/hostages). The others had been filled with extensive special systems, like extra ordinance chambers, a cloaking device, Rac's mainframe, and a few others. Needless to say, there was still extra space, which Arak had filled with important-looking wires and electronic devices which had no real purpose or function.  
  
Hey, he was supposed to be a genius. He had to keep appearances up.  
  
  
  
As of now, many of those useless items were proving quite useful to clog up the holes which threatened to leak all their oxygen into space.  
  
  
  
Unknown to most of the inhabitants and frequent visitors to this space station was that there was an oversized, slightly more "illegal" space dock hidden in the scrap yard that was reserved for Daviorn's most famous inhabitant.  
  
Of course, the number of people who knew that Arak Tetsumi had actually made his home on Daviorn could be counted on one hand.  
  
  
  
There was a loud hiss as air was leaked into the airlock that was specially designed to fit over the Wild Horse's cargo bay doors. There was a much quieter hiss as air was leaked outside via a crack in the ship's armor, but the three pirates shrugged it off. Daviorn could pump oxygen into space 24 hours a day and survive.  
  
"Man, we sure took a beating."  
  
"That's a bit of an understatement, Rayden. But I must say, we came out much better than the guard ships."  
  
Ranma let out a long breath. "That was a tough battle. Who knew they'd guard a single transport so well?"  
  
It was true. 7 Corvettes, 3 frigates, 5 light cruisers, a heavy cruiser, and a light carrier complete with fighters. Ranma and company had the element of surprise, first attack with mines, missiles, and torpedoes, plus the EMP emitters when a ship's shields were down. But they had been badly outnumbered and outgunned. They hadn't even been facing cowardly novice crews either, but military class vessels. But then, Ranma Saotome never loses.  
  
  
  
There was the distinct sound of someone running.  
  
Ranma's skill in fighting depended greatly on his use of force (not THE force, mind you), sometimes lethal, sometimes not. If something came running at him in which the application of force was unecessary or unwise, then it was quite easy to catch him off guard.  
  
"RANMA!!!"  
  
*Glomp*  
  
Arak and Rayden stepped to the side just as Ranma was tackled at high speed, sending him flying into a stack of crates. Never mind that they were hard, heavy, metal crates. Ranma groaned as the large objects toppled onto his back, trying to keep them from hitting the person currently attached to his torso.  
  
Ranma cringed as the last box slammed onto his shoulders, then sighed.  
  
"Hi Kerra."  
  
Kerra snuggled deeper into Ranma's chest, seemingly oblivious to the danger of the crates or Ranma's obvious discomfort with being hit by them.  
  
Arak rolled his eyes. Rayden chuckled. "Well if it isn't the squirt! Come to check up on us?"  
  
Kerra loosened her grip enough to turn around and glare at Rayden.  
  
"Don't call me squirt! And I came to check up on Ranma, not you!"  
  
Rayden crossed him arms over his chest. "Fine, but did you have to knock down all those crates? That's sensitive computer equipment!"  
  
Kerra blinked, and then her eyes started to water. She let out a sniffle, and Ranma flinched visibly. Then she went on to full blown crying, grabbing Ranma in a tight hug for comfort (comfortable for her, that is).  
  
"Waaaaaaa!! Ranma, Rayden's being mean to meeeeeee!!"  
  
Arak had long since stopped listening and was bringing up a damage report on his tricorder. Rayden just shook his head. Ranma looked up toward the ceiling and silently told God that now would be a good time for a stray comet to come and vaporize them all.  
  
Luckily, help came in a less lethal form.  
  
  
  
"Kerra, stop harassing Ranma. He could snap you like a twig, you know."  
  
Gerald Fire, Kerra's father, stepped into the hangar, his old, wrinkled face smiling. Kerra was so energetic.  
  
Kerra's head snapped toward her father. "Ranma would never do that!"  
  
Rayden rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No, HE wouldn't........."  
  
Kerra "eeped" and hugged Ranma tighter. Ranma glared at Rayden.  
  
Gerald shook his head and quickly detached Kerra, which was quite an amazing feat considering his age.  
  
"Some battle, huh? It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that military technology convoy that was assaulted about 7 hours ago, would it?"  
  
Ranma chuckled. "How'd you guess?"  
  
Gerald shook his head. "That convoy held the prototypes and plans for the greatest products of new military technology developed across the galaxy. They guarded it better than any other convoy in 8 years. Everyone expected it to be attacked, but they all expected the Empire, or the Raalgon, or one of those other rouge races. They had Interdictor patrols all around the convoy route, along with extra backup on call."  
  
Ranma chuckled. "Yeah, well, a good scrambler probe can wreck any communication quite easily."  
  
Arak whispered to Rayden. "Interdictors, huh? That explains what happened to the first few mines."  
  
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. And all that wreckage. Those things can't take much damage, can they?"  
  
"Gravity wells are hard on the shield power supply and hull integrity. Otherwise very useful though."  
  
Gerald continued to shake his head, though he cracked a smile at the same time as he spoke to Ranma.  
  
"Still, that was an incredible escort to give to one freighter. Anyone to assault it would have to be incredibly cunning and confident, or incredibly stupid. I'd put you in the stupid category, except you actually managed to pull it off." Gerald stopped to catch his breath, then continued.  
  
"I'd say you need some repairs pretty badly. And is that freighter behind you...?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Yeah, that's the same one in the convoy. The patrols checked up on the convoy as they got close to their position on the route, even without a transmission being sent, so we had to quickly evacuate the crew, and slave the freighter to Rac's nav computer."  
  
Gerald raised an eyebrow. "Evacuate them out through the escape pods or through the airlock?"  
  
Rayden scoffed and tried to sound indignant. "Out the escape pods, of course. We're nice pirates, right Ranma?"  
  
Ranma laughed. "Yeah, 'nice' pirates!"  
  
Gerald smiled. "Well, I'll give her the once over. I'd hate to see a beauty like the Wild Horse destroyed."  
  
Rayden chuckled. "It's a him, not a her. Rac decided he was male, remember? And basically, he is the ship."  
  
Gerald gave Rayden a flat look. "Don't you have anything better to do?"  
  
Rayden made a fist and then dropped it into his other hand. "Come to think of it, I do," he turned toward Ranma, "I'm going to the pub. Catch ya later."  
  
Arak gave a disk to Gerald and pressed a button which caused the freighter to start docking.  
  
"I'm gonna go analyze some of this junk and see what I can do with it. I'll be in my lab."  
  
Arak left for the other docking port, gesturing a few mover droids along with him.  
  
Ranma chuckled and then turned around to leave. "I guess I'll be going to the-urk!"  
  
Kerra immediately had him in a hug that made a wookie's death grip look clumsy and weak.  
  
"Oh no you don't! I haven't seen you in three months! You're spending your time with me!"  
  
Ranma looked to Gerald for help, only to find that the man was busy inspecting the ship. He turned back to Kerra. "Excuse me? Who are you to tell me what to do?"  
  
Kerra hugged him tighter. "If you don't, I'll cry."  
  
Ranma flinched and looked down at her. "Have you no shame?"  
  
Kerra shook her head. "Nope. None."  
  
  
  
Gerald approached Ranma, and handed him a datapad.  
  
"Here's the price for the repairs. It'll take about three days."  
  
Ranma pryed himself out of Kerra's grip and raised an eyebrow toward the older man.  
  
"Only three?"  
  
"When Arak built this thing, he built it well. The ion dampeners protected the ship's electronics, and it appears that Rayden already took care of the directly damaged components. I'd offer to give a proffesional job, but I'd be charging you just to look at it and polish the metal. Rayden's a damn good mechanic. All I have to do is replace the armor and engines, as well as fix up a few other relays. Expensive, but quick."  
  
It was expensive. Ranma frowned as he looked at the report on the datapad. "Man, it's a good thing we got that bank on Triar."  
  
Gerald grinned. "Well, I'd give you a discount, but-"  
  
"No Fire, we can pay you. It's the least we can do. It just kills me to see honest... well, mostly honest small-time businessmen like you having to deal with people like us."  
  
Kerra grabbed Ranma's arm and stroked it soothingly. "Oh come on, we're happy to help!"  
  
Gerald smiled. "It's true. You're not like the average criminal Ranma. You may be a pirate, but I know you're a good person, no matter what path you take."  
  
Ranma chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well, don't tell anybody else that, or you'll ruin my reputation!"  
  
They laughed.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The sound of feet, both padded rubber and metal soled, sounded thorughout the hallway as Arak made his way through the station, a small parade of droids and hover platforms following behind him.  
  
  
  
After Daviorn was turned from a military rest stop to an oversized community center, many new systems had been brought in. Many years had passed since Daviorn had been built, and nearly every system originally installed on the platform had been either miniturized to about the size of an oven or smaller, or had become completely obsolete. Since there was plenty of room, even with all the bulky, useless electronics, the inhabitants had simply brought in whatever they needed, plugged it into the nearest energy port, and left it as is. Being mostly unconcerned with cleanliness, they hadn't bothered to get rid of all the obsolete systems, and certainly didn't care about maintaining them.  
  
Throughout the years, the people had made frequent visits to the decks below, which housed all the obsolete systems and devices, only to forage for spare parts and scrapmetal. This had given the lower decks the distinct look of a place that had been ripped to pieces by some kind of huge monster, and so stories not unlike the tales of Coruscant's sewer systems had arisen.  
  
In truth, though, there were only two hideous mutants (one of them was even housetrained), and a large section of the massive mainframe computer had been removed completely, hiding a very complex and up-to-date lab.  
  
  
  
Arak stopped in front of a former shield generator transformer, and punched a code into the control panel, which looked to be broken and useless to even the most observant fellow.  
  
Yet there was a beep, and the repair panel for the transformer popped open. Arak stepped through it, and the mover droids followed. Suddenly there was a loud screech, and two small laser turrets slid out of the walls to point at Arak. He didn't even flinch.  
  
A small metal box with a clear, square sensor lens built in floated up to him and focused on his eyes. After a moment it backed off, and the laser slid back into the walls. Then a monitor, similar to the ones found all over the Wild Horse lowered itself from the ceiling, suspended by a long manipulator arm.  
  
The moniter had a picture of a sensor lens on it, matching the one on the floating box. A calm, soothing voice sounded out.  
  
"GOOD MORNING DAVE."  
  
Arak sighed, then addressed the viewscreen.  
  
"Tim, given standard time, it's currently evening. And for the 284395th time, my name is Arak, not Dave."  
  
"OF COURSE DAVE. WHATEVER YOU SAY."  
  
The droids filed into the room, oblivious to everything but their task in getting the cargo to its destination.  
  
  
  
Tim had been Arak's earlier attempt at a sentient computer. He succeeded, but the system had been flawed. Very flawed.  
  
Tim and Rac were both acronyms. Tim stood for Totally Incompetent Mainframe, while Rac stood for Really Awesome Computer. Rayden had told him that it sounded stupid, but Arak didn't care. When Rayden designed and built his own sentient artificial life form, then he could call it whatever he wanted.  
  
Arak had been unable to figure out if Tim's seeming lack of intelligence and reasoning had come from an accidentally programmed sense of humor, or just faulty programming in general.  
  
Rac had been a HUGE success compared to Tim. It had everything that Arak had wanted Tim to have in spades: Intelligence, initiative, reasoning, sarcasm, and a really cool robot-like voice. Arak had only kept Tim around as a memorial to his advancements in the field of computers, and as a watchdog, as that seemed to be fully within the defective system's capabilities.  
  
"All right. Let's get this stuff unpacked. I have a good feeling about that tachyon energy matrix."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"So then Ranma just went up into the police tower. When he came back, he was carrying a suitcase full of credits. I asked him what happened and he said that they had made a deal. Ranma was able to keep the money and Garrat was able to keep breathing. Another mug, please."  
  
The bartender looked at him, then shook his head. "You've had enough."  
  
Rayden looked at him strangely. "Do I look drunk to you?"  
  
"No, but you sound drunk. A crime syndicate on Triar? Next you'll be telling me Skywalker steals candy from little kids."  
  
"Look, do you know who I am? I'm Rayden Shikodan, from the WILD HORSE."  
  
At that, he immediately had the attention of everyone in the bar. Several people thought that now was a good time to leave, maybe go for a nice run for their lives. Everyone else just gave the pirate plenty of room. The bartender raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'm impressed, but you still ain't gettin' another drink."  
  
Rayden glared at him. "If this was anywhere but Daviorn, I'd beat you to a pulp and just take my drink."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm glad I'm on Daviorn then."  
  
Rayden grudgingly paid for his drinks, then left the bar.  
  
  
  
Rayden let out a heavy sigh as he walked along the empty corridors of the space station. He looked at the heavy gray wall, then turned around to look out into space. He sighed again. He hated space stations. Never enough to do.  
  
He walked along some more, stopping in front of a small, quaint restaraunt. He was about to enter, when he saw Ranma and Kerra talking together as they watched the news reports on one side of the room. He sighed again. Ranma would be glad to have someone like him to talk to, but Kerra would probably devote the rest of her life to wreaking vengence upon him if he tried to intrude. He and the younger Fire had never been on very good terms, mostly because she seemed to take all his insults and teasings personally for some reason.  
  
Rayden trudged further down the corridor. Daviorn was one of the few places even he wouldn't start a fight, so trying to provoke some loser into a brawl was out. He could go to Arak's lab, but the young scientist wouldn't be doing anything but boring tests and experiments and the like for a while now. Besides, Tim creeped him out. Every time he went into the lab, Tim would yell "DANGER! DANGER DAVE ROBINSON! DANGER!". And after that, it would revert to an old lady's voice and address him as "my precious". Arak should have scrapped that thing long ago. Or at least given it a better name.  
  
That left only one person to talk to.  
  
  
  
Well, okay, so it wasn't really a person, but he wasn't picky.  
  
  
  
"So how are the repairs going, Rac?"  
  
"SHIELD EMITTERS ARE FUNCTIONAL. HULL INTEGRITY HAS BEEN STABILIZED."  
  
"Good to hear. Got any eights?"  
  
"GO FISH."  
  
"Darn."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Arak handed Rayden a datapad, then gestured to a large hover cart full of messy, useless-looking wires and other electronic devices.  
  
"Here's a design I made. This stuff should take care of all the specialty components it needs, the rest of the parts can probably be found lying around here or up in the salvage shop."  
  
Rayden took a look at the design plans, only slightly annoyed that he was suddenly ordered to build something out of the blue like this. He blinked, then pointed to the design.  
  
"This design doesn't have an outer shell. If a butterknife happened to fall and land on it, the entire thing might shut down."  
  
  
  
The design was for a droid. Specifically, a mover droid, with a few obvious modifications. Mover droids typically had large, humanoid torsos, with triangular double treads to allow movement. The arms were very large and thick, and ended in four-fingered claws for gripping objects. The changes to the design were a weapons system, which fed plasma through the arms and out a projector in the middle of the palm, a totally redigned power and fuel regulator, and a strange looking plasma converter. That, and there was no outer shell. Meaning all of the components and wires would be exposed.  
  
  
  
"I know, don't worry about it. The outer shell is going to be composed out of a new armor, but I need some time to create the alloy. Oh, and I'll need you to build four of these things."  
  
Rayden nodded and thumbed through the design, then shook his head.  
  
"The projectors on the palm can't possibly focus such a powerful plasma flux without burning the claws off. If we attached a gun barrel onto the forearms, then-"  
  
"No. It's a new type of weapon that I created with a faulty piece of junk from our new tech items. The original design would have made the weapon useless after about 8 shots, but I changed the capacitor level and remodeled the regulator. The plasma will be stable enough to travel at least 4 feet upon contact with an atmosphere before it hits critical mass and starts to dissipate. 1 foot in a vacuum. Because it's not focused very well, it has a very short range, but if it hits, they'll feel it."  
  
"Um, right."  
  
Rayden had only understood a fraction of what Arak had told him. True, he was a very experienced and capable mechanic, but he usually stayed away from the longer, more technical terms. He preferred the tried and true method of remembering that "this orange thingy gets put into the this little hole here". Primitive, true, but it worked.  
  
Arak shook his head, then smiled as he patted the larger man on the back.  
  
"Rayden, Rayden, Rayden. Don't you understand yet? I'm the scientist, you're the grease monkey. I think, you make. I draw, you build. I'm-urk!"  
  
Rayden glared at Arak as he pressed him against the wall. "Shut up."  
  
Arak bigsweated and nodded rapidly. "Uh huh, sure, whatever you say."  
  
Rayden dropped Arak and started to leave, muttering about the egos of geniuses these days.  
  
Arak regained his composure and then called out to Rayden as he was leaving.  
  
"So, how are your Sabbacc games with Rac?"  
  
"Go Fish, not Sabbacc," Rayden muttered.  
  
Arak blinked. "Go Fish?"  
  
Rayden turned. "Have you ever tried to beat Rac at Sabbacc?"  
  
Arak shook his head.  
  
Rayden grimaced. "It's like trying to beat an AT-AT with a slingshot. Even when he doesn't cheat."  
  
Arak blinked, then laughed as Rayden walked away grumbling.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"So what exactly are these things?" Ranma asked as he eyed the large mass of wires and metal that Rayden was working on. There were two more of them on the side, already built, but still without any outer plating.  
  
"Basically they're mover robots with plasma cannons built into the arms."  
  
*Ksssht* *Whirrrr*  
  
"Ah. Why are you building them?"  
  
*Bzzzzt* *Fzzt*  
  
"Arak's orders. He's apparently putting all the stuff we stole to good use."  
  
Ranma nodded as Rayden stripped a wire with his teeth.  
  
"That's good, so long as we still have something left to auction off to a few choice governments."  
  
Rayden stood up from under the robot. "That reminds me. What happened to the facilities where this stuff was built?"  
  
Ranma smiled and made a wiping gesture with his hand. "All gone. After news got out as to where the technology had come from, every other government wanted a piece of those facilities. Most of them were destroyed in the battles."  
  
"Ouch. And the research and plans to the stuff we took?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure they managed to salvage something, but for the most part, we have pretty much the only copies of this junk."  
  
Rayden grinned as he started connecting one of the robot's arms. "Good to be number 1."  
  
Ranma smiled and nodded. "Always."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The fighters of the Wild Horse were, like everything else Arak ever designed, very unique. They both used a standard T-65 X-wing engine chassis, as well as the same cockpit and quad engine structure. The similarities pretty much ended there. Attached around the engines were a set of forward-facing armored spikes that hid the torpedo launchers of the fighter. The spikes were set one on each side of the engine, and two more just above those that branched outward at different angles. There were also two large spikes that hid the main laser cannons. These began at either side of the cockpit and extended slightly downward and away from the center, extending about six feet further than the cockpit itself.  
  
The ships were certainly frightening in combat, both in appearance, firepower, and speed. They were much larger than most fighters, yet still held the manueverability and speed of the more agile ones.  
  
The fighters didn't have a design name, as the design was constantly undergoing improvement as they went along. So they named the fighters themselves. Rayden and Ranma's fighters were called the Dark Angel and Ion Storm, respectively. They were the same in every aspect, except the Ion Storm was blue where the Dark Angel was black.  
  
  
  
Rayden was in the process of taking apart the engine of his fighter, in what had to be the eighth full systems maintenence check that week. Of course, normally a fighter gets a full systems check every 6 months, but Rayden was so bored!  
  
The repairs on the Wild Horse had been completed 11 days ago, and since then Arak had been hovering around it, making more modifications and such. Since then, he had kept everybody out of the ship. Rayden asked if Arak had anything else for him to build, but Arak had clearly stated that all the rest of the new systems were far too complex to be built anywhere but in his lab.  
  
Ranma had Kerra to keep him busy (no, not like that!), and Arak could spend years in his lab tinkering, but Rayden was reaching his limits when it came to boredom. He couldn't even spar with Ranma because Kerra kept dragging him all over the place. He had reached the point long ago where he just wanted to rend some thick metal to relieve the monotony of it all. Eventually though, he had to stop making new passageways on the lower levels because he was tearing through the power cables that ran to Arak's lab. Tim had blasted him for that but good, too.  
  
  
  
Rayden heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and looked up from where he was on his back under the fighter. He smiled as he saw Ranma approaching, with Kerra clinging to his arm.  
  
"Yo squirt, what's happening?"  
  
Kerra glared at him. "Don't call me that! Or else!"  
  
Rayden grinned. "Or else what? You gonna sic your boyfriend on me?"  
  
Ranma put a hand to his head. "Rayden, give it a rest, would you? Do you know what Arak is doing? He said that we would be ready to leave tomorrow, but the ship was repaired a long time ago."  
  
Rayden shook his head. "Nope. He just took the robots I made and locked the up the port. He won't even let anybody see what he's doing."  
  
"Maybe he wants it to be a surprise," Kerra guessed.  
  
Rayden turned a sarcastic look toward her. "No, really? I'm sure glad that you're around to tell us these things!"  
  
Kerra's visage darkened, and she stalked up to the fighter Rayden was working on. He was about to ask just what she thought she was doing, when she gave the fighter's jack a solid kick, sending all 900 pounds of fighter crashing down on top of its owner. Ranma's eyes widened, as did Kerra as she realized what she just did. When Rayden lifted the whole thing off him and slid out from under it, she was rather quick to get Ranma in-between them.  
  
"You little brat! I'll get you for that!" Rayden growled.  
  
Ranma attempted to diffuse his friend, as he knew how easily he could turn Kerra into a small red blood stain.  
  
"Now come on Rayden, I'm sure she didn't mean to do that. Calm down, okay?"  
  
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!?! THAT HURT!!!"  
  
Ranma winced from the sheer volume of Rayden's complaint, and was about to try again to calm the larger man, when another voice interrupted them.  
  
"Freeze!"  
  
All three of the present people turned toward the voice, which turned out to be a male police officer aiming a blaster at Ranma's head.  
  
Rayden snorted, and before anyone could do anything else, casually backhanded a certain part of an open maintenence panel on his fighter.  
  
*Pshooo!*  
  
Unfortunately for the officer, he happened to be directly in front of the fighter, and its lasers. The man's torso was completely incinerated, and everything below the waist dropped to the floor, lifeless.  
  
Rayden turned toward Kerra, ready to give her a severe scolding, when he saw how pale the girl was and that she was staring at the corpse.  
  
"Wha-how-how-whe......" Kerra continued stuttering as she slowly backed away from the dead officer. She backed into Ranma, who quickly wrapped his arms around her and turned her away from the body, leading her out of the room. On the way out, he passed a glare to Rayden.  
  
"Couldn't you have found a less gruesome way to take care of him?" Ranma left.  
  
Rayden stared at the bottom half of a human still lying on the floor and quickly leaking blood into a puddle. Then he turned back to where Ranma had gone.  
  
"What'd I do?"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma quickly walked down the long metal corridor, trying to get to the hangar as fast as possible without drawing any attention to himself. He had already dropped Kerra off with Gerald, saying to stay low and avoid any pretense of being involved with them.  
  
Ranma shut his eyes tight. Kerra. She shouldn't have had to see that. Not yet. She was too young, and still lived in her own fantasy world where pirating was happy and romantic and nobody got hurt. Ranma sighed.  
  
  
  
Right now, he had to get going. Galactic police officers were like bees; you see one and there's sure to be more nearby. Ranma raised his head right before he bumped into somebody, and cursed himself for his inattention.  
  
  
  
"Oh, I'm terribly sorr-YOU!!" Shouted Namake.  
  
Ranma looked at her and groaned as the female police officer quickly took out a blaster and aimed at him.  
  
"You are under arrest! Come silently and I won't shoot!"  
  
Ranma looked at her, then looked around behind her.  
  
"So, I assume you have some sort of backup coming, right?"  
  
Namake gave him a strange look. "No, why?"  
  
"Then you at least have a better gun than that on you, right? Or at least some type of grenade?"  
  
Namake replied slowly, as what Ranma was saying got through to her. "No........"  
  
Ranma crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're trying to arrest one of the most lethal fighters in the galaxy by yourself and with a puny laser pistol?"  
  
Namake wasn't sure how to reply to that. "Ummmm......."  
  
Ranma sighed, then lashed out with his hand. He grabbed the pistol, wrenched it from her grip, then crushed it in his hand, letting the useless hunk of metal lie on the ground. When he turned back to Namake, he saw that she hadn't moved. At all. Her hands were still positioned as if she had the blaster in her hands.  
  
Ranma sighed and just walked around her, continuing towards the hangar. "If you're not gonna shoot, then stop wasting my time."  
  
  
  
Eventually, Namake's brain summoned the resources to move and think coherently.  
  
"Hey wait! I'm not done with you yet!" She ran in the direction she saw Ranma going in.  
  
Hey, she never thought very coherently in the first place.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma reached the space dock, and he immediately noticed Rayden poking around inside the Wild Horse's cargo bay and hangar.  
  
  
  
"Rayden, what're you doing?"  
  
Rayden turned to look at him, then pointed toward a large opening in the hangar's floor. Ranma wandered up to it, wondering how he had missed it before. He looked into it, and blinked. There, below, was another hangar, and what looked like a huge fighter. It was shaped like a stingray, except that it had a huge belly like the Wild Horse. It was colored red except for the light blue bubble cockpit.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"That," Arak said from behind them, "is the Crimson Bolt. Our new secondary cargo and dropship."  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow. Arak had made a lot of changes. There was something else that was different, and not quite related to the remodeling of the ship, but at the moment he couldn't put his finger on it.  
  
"Whoa, so now we've got a whole new fighter?"  
  
Arak shook his head. "No Rayden, it's not a fighter. At best, you could call it a bomber, but its primary function isn't combat."  
  
"Oh." Rayden was clearly disappointed by this.  
  
Arak grinned. "I can't wait to show you the other stuff, though I haven't had time to test any of it. I wonder how the police found us?"  
  
Ranma grimaced. "Stay in any one place for long enough, and someone'll find you. Let's get outta here."  
  
Arak nodded and continued inside. Rayden followed him, then said, "Man, I'll bet all this stuff is expensive."  
  
Suddenly it clicked into place. What was so different. The entire left side of the cargo bay was usually stacked to the ceiling with large crates full of credits. Ranma whirled around and looked at the area, his eyes only finding a single, empty-looking crate with a few wads of bills on the bottom.  
  
Arak suddenly found himself grabbed by the collar and looking into a pair of very angry eyes.  
  
"Arak, who gave you permission to spend all our money?"  
  
Arak gulped and started sweating. "Um... Rac?"  
  
Ranma glared at him. "Wrong answer."  
  
"Ranma, please, it was supposed to be a surprise!"  
  
"It sure was a surprise! We're almost BROKE!!"  
  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But all those components and metal costs a lot! And you know I don't haggle well with merchants..."  
  
"Merchants? Why are you bothering with them? There's a HUGE scrapyard right outside our ship with more components and metal than it took to build this entire space station!"  
  
Arak fidgeted. "Well, I didn't want to settle for sub-standard stuff......"  
  
  
  
Luckily, right before Arak was about to meet a particularly painful death at Ranma's hands, a distraction appeared. Namake stumbled into the hangar.  
  
  
  
"There you are! FREEZE!!"  
  
They all froze. Then they watched as Namake fumbled around with her belt, trying to find her blaster.  
  
Namake suddenly remembered that her blaster had been crushed into nothing earlier. She looked around to see if she could find one lying on the ground. Seeing none, she turned back to the pirates.  
  
"Um, you wouldn't happen to be able to spare a sidearm, would you?"  
  
"......................................................................."  
  
"......................................................................."  
  
"......................................................................."  
  
Ranma dropped Arak, his hands lacking the concentration and will to hold him up any more.  
  
Namake suddenly looked very nervous, and beat a hasty retreat from the area.  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
Suddenly, Rayden spoke up.  
  
"You know, if I had any respect or faith for the law, that would have been sufficient to crush it right there."  
  
The others could only nod in agreement.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Sir, we have located the stolen frieghter on the far side of Daviorn. The units down on the station have also reported the location of some type of hidden room on the lower levels."  
  
"Good work Liuetenant. Enter the facility and confiscate anything of interest."  
  
"Sir! We're reading a ship leaving the station!"  
  
"Didn't I give specific orders? No one is to leave until the investigation is done! Get the nearest ship to identify and capture it!"  
  
The crewman worked the station quickly, then reported back.  
  
"The ship is coming out of the scrapyard sir! None of our ships are within firing distance!"  
  
"Damn! Deploy the inderdictor! Keep that ship here!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"We've got the go-ahead boys! Let's rock!"  
  
The group of officers got their blasters at the ready, and the leader pushed a button on a remote control.  
  
*Thooom!*  
  
The explosion blasted the door to Arak's lab, and ruined the automated defenses behind it.  
  
The group moved in, and slowly started to let their guard down as they found nothing but stray lab equipment at first glance. They were about to further explore the area when a floating cube hovered up to them.  
  
"HELLO. I ASSUME YOU ARE HERE TO BE DESTROYED. ARMEGGEDON IS COMING! HA HA HA HA HA! YOU'RE ALL DOOMED!!"  
  
As the small box continued to laugh maniacally, the officers just stared at it. Eventually, one of them took aim and blasted the thing, spraying metal components everywhere.  
  
After that, a moniter swiveled down, with a picture of the same square sensor lens that was on the cube.  
  
"THAT WAS A MISTAKE. IT'S THE END OF THE LINE. OBLIVION. SUCKS TO BE YOU. MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB. TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE-"  
  
*Bweeoo* *blam!*  
  
The moniter exploded.  
  
Suddenly, a large cylinder rushed up from the center of the lab, with a little clock on the side with the number 5 on it.  
  
Number four.  
  
Number three.  
  
"Death March" started playing from out of nowhere.  
  
Number two.  
  
"Dun, dun, dah-dun, dun, dah-dun dah-dun dah-dun."  
  
Number one.  
  
The officers suddenly figured out that it would have been a good idea to run.  
  
Zero.  
  
*Beep* "GOODBYE DAVE."  
  
*KAAABOOOOOOOOM!!!!*  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Arak gaped openly at the small explosion that sounded out, blowing a chunk of Daviorn out of its side.  
  
"My lab! Tim!"  
  
Ranma looked toward Arak to see what was wrong.  
  
*Beep* "LEVEL 3 EXPLOSION. NO LIFE SIGNS. ALL PRODUCTION HAS BEEN TERMINATED."  
  
Rayden leaned back in his chair. "Well, it looks like your self-destruct mechanism works well enough."  
  
Arak sighed, and sat heavily into his seat. "Yeah... I was hoping I'd never have to use that."  
  
"AN INTERDICTION FIELD HAS BEEN ACTIVATED. HYPERSPACE ENGINES OFFLINE."  
  
Ranma turned towards the moniter, which displayed a red, circular sensor lens. "Source?"  
  
A holographic display appeared on the table in front of Ranma, showing the Wild Horse in relation to the small interdictor frigate. The ship was closer to the Wild Horse than the rest of the Galactic Police ships, which had been guarding the main ports.  
  
Ranma smiled. Too easy. They were launching fighters to intercept them, but it was quite pointless. Unless a Star Destroyer, Jurian warship, or Oni UFO appeared out of nowhere right next to them (it happens more often then you'd think), this battle was theirs.  
  
"Rac, full speed ahead. As soon as we get within range, start firing torpedoes until it drops the gravity field."  
  
Surprisingly, Arak's voice sounded out, "No Rac, don't."  
  
Rayden fell off his chair. Ranma just stared at him. "Huh?"  
  
Arak smiled, and turned toward his leader. "Trust me."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"All wings report in."  
  
"Red Seven, standing by."  
  
"Red Twelve, standing by."  
  
"Red Eight, standing by."  
  
"Red Two, let's beat some ass! Ha ha ha! Kill! KILL!!"  
  
*Crash* *boom!*  
  
A few scraps of metal bounced off the black spot on the derelict cruiser's armor from where Red Two's X-wing hit. His companions blinked.  
  
"He shoulda' been paying more attention to where he was going."  
  
"Damn waste of an X-wing."  
  
"All right guys, form up! And, uh, watch out for debris!"  
  
  
  
The fighters jetted alongside the interdictor frigate, noticing that it was completely untouched.  
  
"That's the Wild Horse all right! Be careful!"  
  
"Wonder why it's just sittin' there?"  
  
"I've got a baaaaaad feeling about this."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Arak stretched, then started filing his nails as the fighter's approached. Ranma was getting tenser every moment. It wasn't that he was afraid, or nervous, but he knew Arak had something special in mind, and he just hated not being in control of the strategy.  
  
Finally, Arak looked up the holographic display, noting that the fighters were almost within torpedo range.  
  
He got up.  
  
"Rac," Arak begin, "start the new antimatter capacitors. Drain energy from all shields and weapon systems to the tachyon accelerator."  
  
Rayden looked at Ranma. "Tachyon accelerator? Since when do we have a tachyon accelerator? What IS a tachyon accelerator?"  
  
Ranma shrugged, clearly as confused as he was.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Sir, they're powering down their shield and weapon systems!"  
  
The Captain looked at the bridge officer as if he had grown another head. "What?"  
  
"It's true sir! Their shields are down, but they're not surrendering, or even hailing us!"  
  
One of the communications operators gulped deeply. "I don't like this. I don't like this. I don't like this."  
  
The Captain considered the situation for a moment, then shrugged. "If their shields are down, then destroy them!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Radyen watched as a bunch of little white dots appeared on the display hologram. He turned to Arak.  
  
"Um, whatever you're doing, could you hurry up? They fired their torpedoes, and our shields are down."  
  
Rac beeped, and started a systems check of some sort.  
  
"TACHYON ACCELERATORS AT 100%. TACHYON EMITTERS FUNCTIONAL. PLASMA FLUX COILS ARE NOMINAL. PRIMARY CELL CHARGE HAS REACHED CRITICAL MASS. SECONDARY CELL CHARGES ARE AT 80% AND RISING."  
  
Arak grinned. "Apocalypse Cannon! FIRE!!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
As the pilots of the fighters watched their proton torpedoes streak towards their target, they were quick to notice that a large hump on the back of the Wild Horse that had not been present in the readout displays had opened up, and a large, cyndrilical, metal object popped up.  
  
Red Twelve remarked how the thing was glowing orange before everything went white.  
  
  
  
For them, at least. To those that weren't in the line of fire, they saw a thick, yellow-orange beam shoot out from the barrel of the massive gun. The torpedoes were destroyed instantly in the blast. The X-wings, with their shields and armor, lasted a full 0.00006 seconds. The interdictor lasted a whopping 0.3 seconds before the beam bursted through the other side, continuing on into the crowd of approaching capital ships. It pounded its way through a Nebulon B frigate and continued on to hit a Mon Calamari Cruiser in the side. The frigate, having the entiredy of the ship facing the beam, was completely ravaged into nothing, its power core being disintigrated before it could even explode. The cruiser and interdictor, luckily, took the blast in non-critical parts of the ships and just had a big holes in them.  
  
The frigate's hole was big enough to completely destroy any power cables running from the power generator to the gravity well generators, both of which were floating away , untouched, from what was left of the rest of the ship.  
  
  
  
Needless to say, a display of firepower of this kind coming from a light frigate was more than a little frightening.  
  
The Wild Horse suddenly sped up, then disappeared in a flash of blue.  
  
  
  
"......................................................................... ..................................................................." was about all anybody could say at the time. The Wild Horse had just displayed a kind of firepower unheard of by ships twenty times its size.  
  
  
  
The Captain of the ship sighed, then asked for a status report.  
  
"Um, Interdictor Web's life support systems, as well as all other systems, are off-line. The crew is abandoning ship. Mon Cal Cruiser Tiem is requesting permission to abandon ship too, since they're leaking oxygen and heat into space faster than they can deal with. And, well, those little scraps of metal brushing against our hull right now is all that's left of the White Knight. The good news is that one of our other ships says they found the kidnapped freighter."  
  
The Captain quickly swallowed a handful of aspirin and replaced the bottle under his chair. When that didn't work, he fantasized about simply shooting himself in the head to rid himself of this blasted headache.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
*Pshoooooo* The sound of gas leaking into the airlock was audible as the marines prepared to board the abandoned freighter.  
  
The first one stepped in, and switched on his visor display to infra-red. When nothing that could be registered as human body heat appeared, the man switched it off and took off his helmet.  
  
He was followed inside by several more marines, all of them pointing their guns around nervously, as if they expected guns to pop out of the walls. Which was a perfectly acceptable fear, considering who tampered with the freighter last.  
  
  
  
The leader of the marine force looked around the freighter a bit, then pulled out his comlink to contact the Commander.  
  
  
  
*Beep*  
  
The marines all jumped, and then looked for the source of the noise, ready to discharge their weapons at just about anything at this point.  
  
They found the source. A 1' x 1' gray square, with a small glass rectangle that was currently glowing an angry red.  
  
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*  
  
They looked around, and found themselves surrounded by the objects.  
  
Just then, a hatch opened up from above them, spraying confetti everywhere and releasing a banner.  
  
The banner had a picture of Ranma, Rayden, and Arak together, making victory signs with their fingers.  
  
Underneath it, it said "Sayonara Suckers!"  
  
One of the marines let out a whimper.  
  
  
  
*CHA-KOOOOOOOOM!!!!*  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The Captain of the Galactic Police Dauntless-class cruiser Red Dwarf, let out a long sigh as the freighter exploded, taking the nearby transport and two perfectly good Corellian Gunships out with it.  
  
He looked around the room, noting that everyone was once again staring slack-jawed at the moniter.  
  
The Captain quickly reached under the seat, pulled out his bottle of aspirin, and downed all the contents in one gulp, tossing away the small cylinder container as he did so. He grimaced. One bottle was NOT going to be enough.  
  
  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
End Chapter 3  
  
Comments? Questions? Rants? Flames? Donations? Contact me at revcoll@peoplepc.com 


	4. Fighers and Cruisers and Huge, Organized...

Supernova  
  
Chapter 4  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own these characters, I just mess up their lives for my own entertainment. Wait a sec... I DO own most of these characters. Then why the heck am I still doing this for free?!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Fighters and Cruisers and Huge, Organized Crime Syndicates, Oh My!  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
*Fwoosh*  
  
The hiss of air emptying and quickly fillng the small area he was enclosed in sounded against the walls of the small metal cell. Ranma took a deep breath as two large metal doors opened up before him. He stepped out of the airlock, and surveyed the scene. Two guards right outside the airlock looked at him nervously, their weapons at their sides.  
  
Ranma glared at them. They flinched. Ranma took special note of their postures and expressions, and decided that they hadn't been ordered to shoot him in the back as soon as his back was turned.  
  
An attractive brunette in a tight green officer's uniform (complete with short skirt and full low hem, of course) walked up to him.  
  
"Ranma Saotome, I presume?"  
  
Ranma looked her over for a moment, then replied. "The same."  
  
The woman flashed a seductive smile at him. "My my, you're even better looking in person than on the holograms. This way, please."  
  
Ranma blinked at the comment, then shook his head and followed her. Women.  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
"Ah, Ranma Saotome, it is a great honor to meet you in person."  
  
Ranma sat down at the other end of the table, and looked at the man who had spoken. He was tall and thin, with a small pointed beard and glasses. His gray-brown hair betrayed his age.  
  
"I was kinda surprised when I recieved a summons from a crime syndicate that isn't supposed to exist."  
  
The man chuckled. "As if. Everyone knows that Shade exists, they just want to deny it publicly."  
  
  
  
It was true. The alleged "greatest crime organization in the galaxy" Shade never boasted any of its achievements, or even made itself known. Most governmental agencies ruthlessly denied the group's existence, especially to the general public. Everything known about them had been obtained from drunken explorers and smugglers in bars and taverns.  
  
Ranma didn't care about any of that, however. He just wanted to get this meeting over with. That woman that had led him here was currently looking him over, and it gave him the creeps.  
  
  
  
"So'd you just call me here to chat, or are we gonna get down to business?"  
  
The man smiled. "Ah, straight to the point, I see. Very well, but first I might inquire as to why you have no guards? It seems rather strange for a man of your reputation to just walk into a place like this unarmed."  
  
Ranma snorted. "Who says I'm unarmed?" He reached behind his back, and procured an armed blaster rifle out what seemed like thin air.  
  
The man across the table raised an eyebrow.  
  
Ranma shrugged as he put the rifle away into who-knows-where, and clasped his hands together.  
  
"So you're not. Still, it seems like quite a risk for a man such as yourself to appear before someone like me without a guard of some kind."  
  
Ranma snorted. "Hey, I figure that if anyone weaker than me actually manages to kill me, then I deserve whatever I get."  
  
The man smiled. "As you say. My name is Garrion Theadore."  
  
Ranma smirked. "Well it's nice to meet you. You mind telling me why you asked us here all the way from Mallertia?"  
  
Garrion nodded. "Of course. As you well know, your little band of thieves is quite the talk around the galaxy right now. You've made the news holos in almost every sector with sentient life, and chaos seems to follow you everywhere you go."  
  
Ranma waved at him, annoyed. "Yeah yeah, stop telling me things I already know."  
  
"Very well. Your group has caught the attention of Shade. Most of our leaders want you dead."  
  
If Ranma was surprised or worried upon hearing this, he didn't show it at all.  
  
"The reasons vary. Some say you're invading our territory, some fear you'll destroy or take over Shade in the near future, and some just want revenge for eliminating our little sub-organization on Triar.  
  
Ranma blinked. "You owned those guys?"  
  
Garrion smirked and stood up, his hands clasped behind his back. "Of course. We've been abducting spacecraft there for decades, and all of a sudden, in less than a week, BAM. It's gone. Triar was surprisingly profitable. I got a brand new luxury yacht myself."  
  
  
  
Garrion paced a bit, then stopped and placed his hands on the table. "I'll be blunt, Saotome. I want you and your men to work for me. Talent and skill such as yours are far too valuable to either destroy or have working on another team. I want that talent to help us, not hurt us."  
  
Ranma looked down for a moment, then looked up at Garrion. "So you called me here to hire me? What about all those officials in your organization who want me dead? I'm sure some of them have to be your superiors."  
  
Garrion smiled. "Yes and yes. Some say when you can't beat them, join them, but I want you to be on our side before you destroy most of our fleets. As for my superior officers, I find that Tanya can be a lot of help 'persuading' them."  
  
Ranma blinked. "Tanya?"  
  
  
  
At that moment, he felt a chill down his spine. Right after that came a rather warm touch as the woman from before wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.  
  
Ranma slowly looked behind him to see the buxom brunette grinning at him.  
  
He started sweating nervously. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the near proximity of attractive women, but the way she was looking at him reminded him of the way certain large, toothy, aliens seemed to look at him when he wandered around on certain hostile worlds. But with somewhat..... less malicious intent.  
  
Tearing his eyes from her predatory gaze, he was once again addressed by Garrion.  
  
  
  
"Now, I can assure you that should you accept my offer, you and your men will be well cared for. You will recieve a nice starting rank, and salary, be given access to any and all technology and many other recources acquired by Shade, and even a few... bonus benifits.  
  
Tanya purred as her hands started to slide down Ranma's chest. "I can assure you, the bonuses are the BEST."  
  
Ranma started to sweat heavily before bolting out of his chair, leaving a very surprised Tanya standing by his seat.  
  
  
  
Ranma took a deep breath, composed himself, and then started pacing himself as Garrion sat down. After a moment he stopped, and then regarded his host.  
  
  
  
"Now let me see if I understand some of the catches here."  
  
Garrion was about to say something, but Ranma held up his hand, forestalling any interruptions.  
  
"And don't even think of telling me there are no strings attached. I'm smarter than that. Now I may not know much about politics, but I know plenty about human nature. Assuming that I was actually considering selling my freedom, privacy, ship, and overall well-being to Shade, I suppose that I would then be used as a hit man, destroying and killing who or what I'm told to. On top of that, not everyone in Shade is gonna accept us just because you've got Tanya sleeping with them. Uh, no offense, Tanya."  
  
The forementioned woman only smiled more. "None taken. I like a man who speaks his mind."  
  
Ranma sweatdropped, then continued. "Anyway, not everyone in Shade is gonna accept us, and if I'm not mistaken, due procedure for getting rid of someone like that in your organization is basically assassination, which I've certainly had my fill of back with your little sub-division. I could also expect my ship, room, and who knows what else bugged and armed to explode if I've proven to be unloyal or if someone feels like some fireworks. On top of all that, if me and my crew do too good a job as your employees, then naturally your leaders will start to fear that I'm too powerful and want to take their ranks away from them, or take over Shade, or both. Of course, it doesn't take much of an imagination to figure out what happens if we do too bad a job either."  
  
Ranma finished speaking, and brought his hands behind his back. Garrion was at a loss for words.  
  
  
  
".............................................................."  
  
Eventually, he realized he was staring, and shook himself out of it.  
  
"Um....... I really don't know what to say........... was that a 'no'?"  
  
Ranma smiled and started to leave. "Yup! No way, no how. Thanks for the offer though. See ya!"  
  
Ranma walked through the large blast doors, and the huge, thick sheets of metal closed with a *thud*.  
  
  
  
Garrion blinked. Tanya walked up to him and wrapped around him in a hug, then started to caress his chest.  
  
"I hadn't expected that......"  
  
Tanya sighed. "Well, the man is strange for a pirate. He seems to understand us better than we understand ourselves."  
  
Garrion nodded sagely, then pushed a button on the table. "This is a most unfortunate turn of events. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this."  
  
The comlink buzzed. "Hello?"  
  
Garrion spoke into the receptor on his desk. "What is the status of the Wild Horse?"  
  
The comlink went silent for a moment, then the same voice came back. "The Wild Horse is currently leaving the docking bay. It's going slower than usual, and oddly enough, its shields are down."  
  
Garrion blinked. "Most unusual. Destroy it. Use EXTREME caution. These are not men to be trifled with lightly."  
  
  
  
Garrion switched off the comlink before the person on the other end could utter "yes sir" and turned toward Tanya.  
  
"What a waste of talent and technology. Ah, well, if you can't join them, destroy them!"  
  
Tanya smiled, then brought a finger to her lip with a bemused expression on her face. "It's really too bad. He was just too cute."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma immediately noticed something was wrong the moment he stepped back on board the Wild Horse. For one thing, a lot of lights were off, as well as some other displays on the bridge. He wandered over to where Arak was playing some mech simulator against Rac.  
  
Ranma tapped Arak on the shoulder, and the smaller man wheeled around in his chair.  
  
"Hey, what's with all the lights and stuff? Is there something wrong with the main reactor?"  
  
Arak shook his head. "Well, yes, but that's not what's causing it. The readouts were showing a bit of strain on the generator from the Apocolypse cannon, so Rayden's giving the reactor a once-over to see if there's anything wrong. We're currently running on the secondary generator."  
  
  
  
Ranma blinked, then shrugged. The secondary reactor was a backup generator, for use when the main generator was damaged or destroyed, or when just undergoing maintenence, like now. It had power relays only to essential ship functions, such as life support, engines and hyperdrive, Rac, and the hangar.  
  
"All right. Let's get out of here."  
  
"Right aw-"  
  
*Beep* "ENEMY WEAPON SIGNATURE DETECTED."  
  
Ranma and Arak stopped, and slowly digested that piece of information. Ranma managed to sum it up by himself.  
  
  
  
"Oh, fudge."  
  
*Blaaaaaam!!!* The entire bridge seemed to shake as the first laser blasts hit, meeting no resistance as they seared into the armor plating of the light frigate.  
  
  
  
Rac's voice reverberated throughout the bridge. "THE ENEMY NUMBERS 2 STRIKE CRUISERS, AN INTERDICTOR FRIGATE, AND 2 DREADNAUGHTS. SUGGESTED ACTION: RAISING SHIELDS MIGHT HELP."  
  
Ranma looked up to the viewscreen, and replied in a sarcastic voice, "Gee, it's a good thing you know so much about space battle strategy. Otherwise, we might not have thought of that."  
  
*Kroooom!!*  
  
*Beep* "TURBOLASER TURRET 3 OFFLINE. WAS THAT A YES OR A NO?"  
  
Ranma growled. "Turn on the main reactor and activate the freakin' shields!"  
  
  
  
*WhoooooooOOOOOOOOOO......*  
  
Ranma let out a brief sigh of relief at the steady, rising hum of the nearby consoles regaining power.....  
  
*Gzaaaaaaaaaaak!*  
  
"YEEEEEEEEEOOOOOUUUUCH!!!!!"  
  
..... Then let out a cry of panic as Rayden screamed, and the controls went black again.  
  
*Beep* "MAIN GENERATOR OFFLINE. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT SHIKODAN IS CURRENTLY BEING USED AS A PRIMARY POWER RELAY. UNFORTUNATELY, HIS BODY LACKS THE REQUIRED CONDUCTIVIY OF SAID DEVICE."  
  
*Booom!!*  
  
*Beep* "TURBOLASER TURRETS 6 & 8 OFFLINE. PROTON TORPEDO LAUNCHER 3 IS OFFLINE. HULL BREACH ON THE STARBOARD SIDE. "  
  
  
  
Ranma felt like banging his head on the wall. "All right, Arak, launch a shield probe, then drop all power consumption to passive minimum. I'm going out there in the Ion Storm."  
  
Arak nodded nervously, then pushed a button, targeting the path of the incoming laser blasts.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Outside the Wild Horse, part of the hangar opened up, and a small rocket- propelled metal sphere popped out. It turned around in the proper direction, and then rocketed out into the vacuum.  
  
Spears of deadly red light lashed out from the side of it as the probe managed to get within the flow of fire without getting hit.  
  
Suddenly, eight long spikes shot out of the orb, and energy sparked from the tip of one spike to the next.  
  
Energy filled the spaces between the points of the spears, and before long, the incoming blasts were being completely absorbed by the small shield cube.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma grimaced as he dragged Rayden out of the main reactor core.  
  
He should've expected this. He knew there was no way to predict it, but he should've at least thought of it.  
  
The shield probe was another one of Arak's innovations. The small 4' x 4' sphere could erect a ludicrously powerful shield for the generator size. It had its drawbacks, of course. The generators worked themselves to the very limit, and always burned themselves out totally, making reuse impossible. And they were way too expensive to use liberally.  
  
  
  
Ranma dropped Rayden off in the back of the hanger, then put on his flight helmet.  
  
"Rac, when Rayden regains consciousness, tell him to help me out there, okay?"  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE. GOOD LUCK."  
  
Ranma smirked. "If I had to rely on luck, I'd be dead right now, and you know it."  
  
  
  
Ranma jumped into the cockpit of the blue fighter, and did a quick pre- flight check before he gunned the engines, rocketing out into space.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"Sir, we're picking up a fighter emerging from the Wild Horse. ID confirms it as the Ion Storm."  
  
Terry Orn, Captain of the Strike Cruiser Steel Hawk nodded. "That's Saotome's ship. Direct all cannon fire onto the fighter, save, maybe, 2 turrets per ship, to keep shooting at the Wild Horse. Speaking of which, what's the status on that blasted obruction?"  
  
"The probe has erected a surprisingly strong shield directly in our line of fire. The shield is wide enough to block all incoming lasers."  
  
"Tell those turrets still firing at the frigate to just keep firing on the probe until they break through it. And I want Saotome taken down! With or without his ship, his goal is to get out of here alive, and the only way to do that is to destroy the inderdictor. Launch all fighters, and have the fighters launching from the station target Saotome too."  
  
"Right away, sir!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma grunted as he dodged the laser fire from the capital ships. He had to get rid of the interdictor, he knew that much, but to do it would take too much time for the Wild Horse, that was currently only a few laser barrages away from oblivion. And the fighters didn't help matters much.  
  
Of course, there were ways of taking the thing down faster, but that left other complications.  
  
  
  
The display in front of Ranma blinked as several fighters were launched from the Dreadnaughts and cruisers. Then a new cluster of dots appeared on his back sensor as the base launched their squadrons.  
  
Ranma weaved in and out of the incoming turbolaser fire, almost as if he knew where the bolts were going before they were fired. He spared a glance at his sensor readings.  
  
[18 fighters to bow, and 26 to stern. Hmm... Z-95 Headhunters. Look like Mark I's too. I thought that Shade was better equipped than that. Oh well, it's their loss,] Ranma thought as he studied the various dots on the display.  
  
  
  
Ranma jerked the ship to the right of an incoming laser blast, and sent two rounds of fire into an incoming ship. The first two bolts broke the shields, while the second two slagged the cockpit, fusing the transparisteel with the surrounding metals, and twisting the former fighter into an unidentifiable ball of scrap.  
  
Two other fighters met the same fate as the first as Ranma weaved through the lances of energy like a missile through a hailstorm. Ranma passed through the first wave, and hit the back jets as he turned, quickening his hairpin curve as he brought his lasers to bear against his next target.  
  
Ranma swung to port slightly to avoid a turbolaser blast, then shredded two more Headhunters with his lasers. He quickly switched to torpedoes and launched one at a retreated fighter before turning back around as the two waves of fighters regrouped, then homed in on his position.  
  
A bright blue flash of light and the disappearance of one of the little red dots on his sensor display marked the death of another fighter pilot.  
  
A spark of lightning lancing out into space before disappearing, plus the fading of one of the little green dots on his sensor display marked the death of the shield probe.  
  
  
  
[Damn! I guess I'm out of time. Have to do this now.]  
  
All at once, hundreds of darts of red streamed out from behind him, a tribute to the foreboding presence of the swarm of fighters. What didn't miss and proceed ahead splashed against his shields, sending ripples of soft blue energy across the whole of the ship. Ranma grimaced and hit a button on his console.  
  
His speed doubled almost immediately, as two engines not previously visible on the Ion Storm's backside made themselves known. Ranma rocketed out, far ahead of the fighters' effective firing range, moving beyond the two cruisers and finally slowing as he passed the interdictor and its Dreadnaught escort.  
  
  
  
Ranma turned the Ion Storm around without stopping his momentum, and was treated to a view of the pursuing fighters as they passed over the bulky gravity generators of the interdictor frigate.  
  
Ranma sweated as he flipped up the tip of his flight stick, revealing a translucent yellow button. If he did this right, and was real lucky, he just might be able to last long enough after the initial power drain to make the jump into hyperspace with the Wild Horse. If he wasn't lucky, well, then he was dead.  
  
Ranma allowed a smirk to cross his face as he targetted the interdictor right behind the swarm of incoming fighters.  
  
"Goodbye, losers! CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON A NEUTRON DISRUPTION FIELD!!!"  
  
He pushed the button.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The front of the Ion Storm seemed to suddenly erupt into flames as a huge blue light appeared right in front of it, like a bright cyan barrier.  
  
That was somewhat less impressive then the veritable river of proton torpedoes that erupted from the bulky fighter.  
  
  
  
Like a machine gun, the fighter spat out the deadly blue missiles in quick succession. Several of the fighters were too stunned at the sheer number of projectiles to contemplate dodging them, and they were soon reduced to their base subatomic components. Most of those that managed to gather their wits in time got out of the way, and managed to survive as the torpedoes plummeted toward the helpless interdictor.  
  
  
  
The crew of the frigate barely had time to panic as the waves of torpedoes hit, burning the already weak shields to nothing. The entire ship shook as the rain continued, and the crew had just finished falling down from the tremors when the ceiling above them disentigrated, leaving them to the mercy of the vacuum and the remaining missiles. Neither of which were particulalry merciful, of course.  
  
The Dreadnaught rapidly pulled away from the barrage, its relatively small size allowing it to avoid most of the onslaught. The torpedoes were of course numerous but very inaccurate; they seemed to be going on totally random courses, using only the Ion Storm's general direction as a constant. Those that hit the Dreadnaught managed to burn through the shields and wreak some damage on the surface. Those that didn't hit anything merely continued on thier courses, heading off into infinity.  
  
  
  
And at last it was over. The Ion Storm continued its steady path backward, the only evidence of the ridiculous expenditure of weaponry being the large scorch marks on the long spikes that jutted out of the fighter's front. The interdictor was gone; reduced to nothing but twisted, molten metal which quickly froze in the black void. Only seven of the fighters survived, most of them simply passing right by Ranma's fighter, too shell-shocked to do more than gape.  
  
Most of them.  
  
  
  
Ranma frantically flipped a single switch on his control board, trying to feed power into the engines and shields. At this point, either one would do, but many circuits had been overloaded, as releasing that much energy at once wasn't simple.  
  
Ranma grunted as the Ion Storm shook from a fighter's lasers to its port. The inertial stabilizers momentarily useless, its pilot was tossed mercilessly inside the cockpit as it was struck again and again. A small top view of his fighter's superstructure began to turn red in certain areas, as did his list of currently functional systems.  
  
Finally, the enemy fighters passed, and Ranma was alerted to a somewhat more prominent danger. The Dreadnaught, though having sustained a bit of damage, still had a perfectly operational turbolaser cannon on it. The hulking gray weapon turned its guns toward the Ion Storm, seeming to move with an almost deliberate slowness; as if the gunner wanted to make sure that this opportunity wasn't his imagination.  
  
Ranma flipped the switch again and again, but he knew the effort was wasted. The power couplers had to have a certain amount of time before they could compensate for the energy drain. Ranma held no false hopes of suriviving a turbolaser bolt either; even with the remarkably durable armor of his fighter, a single round of turbolaser fire would vaporize his cockpit, at the very least.  
  
  
  
That single round never came, however. Before the massive gun could fire, twin spears of white stabbed into it, and the boxy construct exploded, leaving a twisted, gaping hole in its side.  
  
Ranma smiled as he watched a black, spider-like shape rocket by, raining laser bolts on the Dreadnaught.  
  
He flipped the switch on his control board again, and his displays exploded with light, as power started flowing into the various systems again.  
  
Ranma's smile grew even broader as he gunned the engines.  
  
"It's payback time."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Terry gaped at the remains of the interdictor frigate, even as his crew regained enough of their wits to notice other things.  
  
"Sir, the Wild Horse is moving again. Estimated time until it can get into hyperspace: 45 seconds."  
  
Orn snapped out of it and turned towards the man that spoke. "Is there any way for us to take it out in that amount of time?"  
  
"I'm sorry sir, no. We're not close enough for that."  
  
"Captain! I've gotten an ID on the second fighter. It's the Dark Angel!"  
  
Terry grimaced and lowered his head. 'So now we face both of them. This battle is lost. I must cut my losses while I can.'  
  
"Order all units to retreat to our ships. It looks like Saotome won this one."  
  
"Ummm....... that will be difficult, sir."  
  
Terry glanced at the officer, certain that he wasn't going to like whatever the man had to say.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Outside the capital ships, the pilots of the seven remaining Z-95's were panicking. It was bad enough when the Dark Angel decided it was done with the dreadnaught and went after them, but now the Ion Storm was fully functional again and firing on them too.  
  
The fighters didn't stand a chance.  
  
Rayden fired constantly, boxing his target in with laser bolts and then hitting them hard, often going after a few targets at once.  
  
Ranma seemed to stalk his prey, trailing them as they desperately tried to shake their pursuer, and then firing at just the right time. Not a laser was wasted, and he would always hit his mark.  
  
  
  
Soon four more fighters met the fate of their friends caught in the torpedo barrage.  
  
Five.  
  
Six.  
  
The last fighter of Garrion's squadrons dodged the Dark Angel's laser blast frantically as he tried to make his way back to the nearest capital ship.  
  
Rayden resisted the urge to make some offhand comment about the force.  
  
The last Headhunter weaved his way out of the laser barrage, only to get tagged by two streaks of white from the side.  
  
  
  
Rayden's rather displeased voice echoed in Ranma's comlink.  
  
"Hey! He was mine!"  
  
Ranma grinned. "You slow, you blow. Deal with it. That's 41 down for me, 3 down for you, by the way."  
  
Rayden muttered something about mutiny before speaking clearly into the comlink.  
  
"You wanna have a run at the big guys before we take off?"  
  
"Sure. Though my torpedoes are offline, so you'll have to do all the real damage."  
  
Rayden's voice was far from disappointed. "Excellent."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
As Arak tried to run damage control on the Wild Horse, he didn't notice that they were moving to go into hyperspace until Rac chose to inform him of their situation.  
  
"RECIEVING SIGNAL FROM DARK ANGEL. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT RANMA AND RAYDEN ARE GOING TO STAY BEHIND FOR A BIT. WE, HOWEVER, SHOULD NOT TAKE THE RISK OF STAYING."  
  
Arak glanced up at the viewscreen, not yet comprehending what was going on.  
  
"What? What do you-?"  
  
That's when he noticed the 3-D battle display, and the lack of a certain image.  
  
"Hey, the interdictor's gone! We can get out of here!"  
  
"AFFIRMITIVE. HOWEVER, SHIKODAN HAS REQUESTED THAT THEY CATCH UP WITH US LATER."  
  
Arak walked over to the communications console. "All right then. We'll need to transmit the hyperspace coordinates first, of course."  
  
Arak started to manipulate a few buttons, and one of Rac's spherical drones hovered up beside him.  
  
"I WOULD NOT ADVISE-"  
  
"There! Done! Now let's get out of here!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Terry Orn sighed as he watched the Wild Horse warp into hyperspace. His expression turned to confusion as he noticed the two fighters heading toward the second Dreadnaught and strike cruiser.  
  
'They would risk themselves just to exact revenge upon a few of our ships. Figures. Garrion will not be pleased. I'll be stripped of rank for certain! If I'm lucky......'  
  
"Captain! Were picking up a transmission from the Wild Horse! It appears to be a set of hyperspace cooridinates, but it's not encrypted!"  
  
Terry blinked, then grinned. Maybe he could still redeem himself. "My my. Ranma's crew does seem to be making an awful lot of blunders today. Notify Snake group at 683.97. Tell them to pursue and destroy the Wild Horse and any of its crew.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma took one glance at his communications readout, then nodded as he and Rayden approached the Dreadnaught. Then he took another glance, and felt like banging his head on the nearest console.  
  
"Arak, you IDIOT!!"  
  
'The fool used the wrong frequency! Everyone with a com system can tell exactly where he's going!'  
  
  
  
Ranma growled, then hit his comlink. "Ray, you hear me? We gotta make this quick! Forget about the Dreadnaught and go straight for the big one!"  
  
Rayden's voice came back through the transmitter. "Right. I'm on it. I've already got the Dread's shields down, so you can make a couple of runs on it, just to give the techs something to fret over when it's repaired."  
  
Ranma nodded and began his run.  
  
  
  
On the Dark Angel, Rayden skimmed through the turbolasers almost recklessly, diving toward the strike cruiser. The ships were far larger than the Wild Horse, and their shields were that much more powerful, too. Therefore, getting through would require some...... special measures.  
  
Rayden shot past the laser turrets without firing a shot. As he passed over the starboard edge of the vessel, he spun around without losing his momentum, momentarily becoming a sitting duck to any gunners.  
  
Unfortunately for the gunners, the turbolaser turrets were too bulky and massive for such quick targeting.  
  
Rayden flipped open a switch on his control board, then pushed the small button below it.  
  
"Launching plasma grenades! Let's burn!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
The Dark Angel shot away from the incoming fire of the turbolaser cannons, pausing only long enough for two small cylinders to pop out from just above his torpedo launchers.  
  
The twin cylinders slowly made their way through space, and began a lazy arc toward the cruiser's hull, as the magnetic casing latched onto the only metal within 100 meters. As they made their way to the ship, the small tubes seemed to start glowing, then catch on fire as they were slowly engulfed by an orangish-yellow flame.  
  
When the grenades hit the shields of the cruiser, the hot plasma that surrounded them seemed to flare up, and then started to spread across the bubble of charged ions. The superheated substance glided over the energy field like a liquid, piling up at certain points and releasing small streams of superheated flame.  
  
Those on the Steel Hawk had to agree that it was the most beautiful weapon they had ever seen, putting the dancing lights of the brightest nebulae to shame. Most of the gunners were so mesmerized by the sight that they just stopped shooting, leaving their sister ship to the Dark Angel's mercy.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
If you were inside the shield that the plasma was flowing over, then it was somewhat less beautiful. And if you had something else far more important to worry about, then the flowing river of plasma was of an entirely different consequence.  
  
"Sir, our shields are being totally drained! Our deflector screens will be down in seconds!"  
  
The captain didn't even have time to yell "what?!" before the thin cyan barrier gave out, disappearing before the assault of liquid flame.  
  
  
  
The plasma, now with nothing to hold onto, slowly crept up to the armor of the cruiser, its vast bulk providing enough of a gravitational field to act as an anchor. It burned at the metal, peeling away layers of durasteel like skin under a stream of acid.  
  
Of course, that was nothing compared to what the torpedoes did.  
  
*Ka-kroom!!* *Shoooooom!*  
  
Gaping wounds appeared in the cruiser's armor as the very atomic structures of the base materials were corrupted and destroyed, punching holes into the mighty warship. Atmosphere was leaked out into space as bulkheads were melted down to slag, then frozen into irregular blobs in the cold, hard vacuum.  
  
  
  
Rayden hit a button on his console, and the intro music from Gundam Wing started playing.  
  
He hummed along with the tune as he streaked over the hull of the cruiser, blasting away laser turrets and indiscriminately firing off torpedoes.  
  
He stopped over a certain portion of the cruiser, linked his torpedo launchers, then created a nice big tunnel into the ship's power core. He flipped up the switch on his control panel, then launched two more grenades into the cruiser's main generator. With that he gunned his boosters, and got to a nice safe distance before the reactor went critical, blowing the hulk of metal in half and spewing debris out into space.  
  
  
  
'Hmph. The jerks deserved it too.' He flipped on his communicator. "Ranma, I'm good to go. You ready to get out of here?"  
  
The comm unit buzzed briefly before Ranma's voice came back. "I'm ready. Let's jet. Good job on the cruiser. Oh, and thanks for saving my hide back there."  
  
Rayden grinned. "What, are you kidding? Do you have any idea how many women would be out for my blood if they found out I let you kick the bucket?"  
  
There was an unintelligable noise on the other end of the unit, then Ranma's voice came back. "Shut up and hit the hyperspace cooridinates. And you can bet that me and Arak are going to have a LONG talk if we make it out of this in one piece."  
  
Rayden nodded, and started up the hyperspace engines.  
  
  
  
Outside, the crews of the Steel Hawk and the cripple Dreadnaught could only stare helplessly as the two fighters were immersed in pools of blue- white light.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Captain Terry Orn sweated nervously as Garrion paced before him, going over the events of the battle. Eventually Garrion turned to regard the captain, and then placed both his hands on the table.  
  
  
  
"So you lost."  
  
Orn gulped and slowly nodded.  
  
"The Wild Horse had no shields, no weapons, the entire ship was totally helpless, and you couldn't destroy it before two fighters destroyed our interdictor.  
  
Terry began to speak. "I-I'm sorry sir. We-we had n-no way of knowing that Saotome's fighter was capable of that kind of firepower......"  
  
Garrion seemed to think this over, then nodded.  
  
"Indeed, you couldn't have known. Everything that happened was given that little extra sting by the fact that we didn't know what to expect. We cornered a wounded lion, and we payed the price."  
  
Garrion looked up at Orn, and gestured him away. "You may go now. I recognize that you are not responsible for the losses, and we need the Steel Hawk to assist Snake group in hunting the Wild Horse down."  
  
Terry looked surprised. "So... I'm free to go?"  
  
Garrion grinned. "Of course. Did you think I was going to kill you for your failures? I'm not Darth Vader. Occasional failure is the only sure thing in any campaign, and we don't exactly have so many men that our leaders can wander around killing everyone that makes a mistake. There was nothing you could have done. If the Wild Horse had been operational, you would have lost far more miserably than you did."  
  
Terry wiped his brow in relief, then thought of something. "Um, sir, how do we know that the hyperspace cooridates aren't a trap?"  
  
"We don't. I doubt that Saotome has the resources necessary to use such a strategy, but after the last battle, I'll take nothing for granted. That's why I've notified the local authorities of Saotome's presence. We'll simply wait in their shadow, and when the time is right, we will strike. You are dismissed."  
  
Terry Orn saluted, then left in a most military fashion.  
  
  
  
Tanya walked up to her employer from the shadows, and he slipped an arm around her waist.  
  
"Saotome...... perhaps I have finally found a worthy challenge after all."  
  
Tanya smiled and kissed the man's forehead. "I think so. We're facing a man with the power of an army."  
  
Garrion smiled himself. "Indeed. This game has only begun. I think it's time to put down a few of my pieces."  
  
Theadore hit the button on the comlink on his desk, and then spoke into the reciever.  
  
"Send him into my office."  
  
The voice that came back was uncertain. "Uh, sir, 'he' isn't here right now."  
  
Garrion frowned. "Where is he?"  
  
"I have no idea. He asked for instructions to the restroom forty minutes ago, and never came back."  
  
Garrion and Tanya blinked. Then they jumped as the door to Garrion's quarters opened, and a male figure stepped out.  
  
"Where the hell am I now? Where'd they hide that blasted men's room?!"  
  
Garrion blinked, then settled down. Tanya was still surprised, and her hair was sticking out at odd angles.  
  
"Ah, Ryoga Hibiki. I see you found your way here. Sort of." 'How did he get into my room without passing through here?'  
  
The man turned toward Garrion, surprised. He wore black and yellow body armor, with a nice-sized blaster attached to his belt. He was tall, with a mop of messy black hair held out of his brown eyes by a black and gold bandanna.  
  
"Are you Theadore?"  
  
Garrion nodded. "That I am. Will you take a seat?"  
  
Ryoga shook his head. "No thanks. I just want to find out where Ranma is and get out of here. The sooner I'm on his tail, the better."  
  
Garrion looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Very well. You're the best bounty hunter that has offered to help us kill Ranma Saotome. Not to mention the only one that offered to do it for free."  
  
Ryoga tapped his foot, annoyed and impatient.  
  
Garrion cleared his throat. "The hyperspace coordinates are being loaded into your ship even as we speak. You are free to go."  
  
Garrion had almost turned around in his chair before he swerved toward Ryoga again, who was heading back into his room.  
  
"That's the wrong way."  
  
Ryoga grinned sheepishly and tried to turn around, only to do a 360 and keep on going in the same direction.  
  
Tanya facefaulted.  
  
Garrion sweatdropped. 'Maybe I should have gone with Bobba Fett instead.'  
  
  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
End Chapter 4 


	5. Crusade of the Lost Hunter

Supernova  
  
Chapter 5  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I'm doing this for free, unlike the hundreds of authors who couldn't write a good story if their lives depended on it and yet get paid more than I'll ever make in the course of my entire life. Sheesh.  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Crusade of the Lost Hunter  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Rayden held up Arak by the front of his shirt, shaking the smaller man furiously.  
  
Arak managed a weak smile. "C-c'mon man, I made a mistake. It could have happened to anyone!"  
  
Rayden glared down at him, though he actually accepted the statement as a valid excuse. Arak knew very well that Rayden wasn't going to hurt him, but his angry stare was still unsettling.  
  
  
  
Ranma sighed nearby, then looked at one of the masses of fried electronic devices. His ship was a wreck.  
  
"All right Arak, we forgive you. However, please note that both our systems failure and the fact that we're currently under siege by both Shade and the Galactic police are both YOUR fault. So naturally, you get to stay here and repair the ship while Rayden and I go explore the nearby towns. Got it?"  
  
Arak lowered his head and grumbled incoherently. Getting the job of fixing the ravaged Wild Horse while Ranma and Rayden went out drinking was certainly no fun.  
  
"Fine. I'll get the power grid up and running, but beyond that, you know there's not much more I can do."  
  
Rayden nodded. "Yeah yeah, it's up to me to patch up that huge gouge in the hull. Just get your job done, okay?"  
  
  
  
Ranma and Rayden left the strategy room, then stopped at the entry hatch of the Wild Horse. Ranma made a gesture with his finger, and one of Rac's floating sphere drones hovered up to him.  
  
"What's the status on this place, Rac?"  
  
The drone let out a strange click, then answered in Rac's automaton, monotone voice.  
  
"WE HAVE LANDED ON KEERYU, THE SECOND PLANET OF THE TIAR SYSTEM. MINERAL RESOURCES ARE SCARCE, AND THE PLANET IS CURRENTLY USED FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES. TECHNOLOGY IS LIMITED, AND THE PLANET CURRENTLY HAS NO ORBITAL DEFENSES OR STATIONS. ATMOSPHERE IS RATHER UNSTABLE, WITH FREQUENT HIGH- ALTITUDE ION STORMS THAT INTERFERE WITH ORBITAL SCANNING. WE ARE CURRENTLY BEING PROTECTED BY ONE SUCH STORM."  
  
Ranma nodded. Rayden spoke up. "What about the orbital blockade?"  
  
"BEFORE WE TOOK COVER UNDER THE STORM, TOTAL COUNT OF ENEMY SHIPS WAS 8 GALACTIC POLICE ASSAULT VESSELS, AND 3 DISGUISED SHADE WARSHIPS, INCLUDING THE STEEL HAWK. WITH THE WILD HORSE CURRENTLY DAMAGED AND ON EMERGENCY POWER, ODDS OF BREAKING THROUGH THE BLOCKADE WITH THE WILD HORSE INTACT ARE SOMEWHERE AROUND 0.00005%. WITH THE CLOAKING DEVICE DOWN, AND THE VERY ADVANCED SCANNERS ON THE GALACTIC POLICE VESSELS, THE ODDS OF SNEAKING PAST THE BLOCKADE ARE EVEN LESS. DO YOU WANT TO HEAR SOME NUMBERS?"  
  
"No thanks, I think you made your point quite clear," Ranma replied in a flat tone.  
  
"Anyway, Rayden and I are leaving now. Notify me if you need to."  
  
  
  
They started to leave, but Rayden suddenly turned around and addressed the small floating sphere.  
  
"Oh, and make sure Arak doesn't screw up again? For a genius he can be pretty dumb sometimes."  
  
The sphere beeped appreciatively. "I'LL KEEP A SENSOR ON HIM."  
  
Rayden nodded and left.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma looked around at the surrounding area, his mind content and in harmony. He would never admit it out loud, but he actually did prefer a little peace and quiet to scavenging a derelict space cruiser or crushing an enemy fighter squadron.  
  
Rayden, on the other hand, was bored out of his mind, ceaselessly chewing on his sandwich and hoping for an explosion or something. To him, every moment of peace and quiet was a moment you could've spent somewhere else.  
  
  
  
And so they walked through the streets of the small city, making small talk and trying not to think of the life-and-death firefight they had just come out of. Well, Ranma tried not to think about it.  
  
Ranma commented on how bright and colorful the ion storms looked from down below. Rayden commented on how tame they were, since they didn't throw down huge bolts of energy like he'd always seen on the holovids.  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes, then explained very slowly, and sarcastically, the difference between holovid special effects and real life.  
  
  
  
And then, as if the heavens themselves were mocking him, a thick stream of blue streaked down and collided with the tallest building in the city, blowing off huge chunks of duracrete and glass as pressure lines broke and ignited, spewing flames throughout that floor of the structure.  
  
Rayden looked at the scene of chaos and destruction for a moment.  
  
"Cool."  
  
Ranma sighed. "It figures. It really does."  
  
A woman passed by, screaming relentlessly. "The embassy is on fire! Somebody do something!"  
  
Rayden stared after her for a moment more, then turned back to Ranma.  
  
"You know what this means, don't you?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Of course. We can't just stand here and do nothing."  
  
They looked once more at each other for a moment, and then ran off to loot the place.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Huddling in a room surrounded by flames, an executive governer gathered his family, whispering hushed words of assurance that they would get out of this alive.  
  
It was a lie, of course. The only doorway out of the room was covered with fire, completely unaccesible to those that needed it the most.  
  
The governer took one long, last look at his wife and 6-year old daughter, both of them crying in terror as the wall of burning heat crept forward.  
  
  
  
And then, as if by some act of God, one of the walls burst inward, spraying dust and plaster out over the nearest flames.  
  
A figure stepped out of the whole, searching the area quickly with his eyes.  
  
  
  
Rayden looked around the room quickly, before deciding that the three people in front of him were the only ones still on this floor. He gestured toward them.  
  
"Quickly! Out this way!"  
  
The governer quickly rushed his daughter and wife through the hole, the latter thanking the man very profusely before retreating. The governer was about to follow when a hand stopped him.  
  
"Wait! There might be other people around here. I'll need your wallet to get them out!"  
  
Nodding quickly, the man surrendered his pocketbook and left with his family.  
  
It would be several hours before he regained the mental concentration necessary to ask himself WHY Rayden would need his wallet to save anyone else.  
  
  
  
Rayden smirked as the governer left and he pocketed the treasure. What a sucker.  
  
"Well, I've done my good deed for the month. Now let's see what's in that safe."  
  
  
  
Rayden walked toward the small steel box, totally unconcerned with the raging fire that surrounded him. A few quick hops and he was over the worst of it, and he could weather the rest.  
  
He grabbed the safe, tore off the door, and was rewarded with a number of expensive jewelry pieces and a few wads of credits. Pocketing the valuables, Rayden beat down the wall before him with his fists, breaking his way into the next room.  
  
'God I love my job.'  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma smashed the desk to pieces with a single punch, breaking the fire- cracked wood easily. Sifting around in what was left of the drawers, Ranma picked out what papers he could find and quickly shoved them in his pockets while he searched for valuables.  
  
His eyes eventually found their way to a small box lightly covered in velvet, and he picked it up, casually wandering away from the fires as they engulfed the desk and what remained of its contents.  
  
  
  
Ranma opened the small box, and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well well. A wedding ring. Real Gornan's Eye, too. Must be one lucky lady."  
  
Smiling, Ranma took the ring out of its case, and threw the container back into the raging flames.  
  
  
  
Ranma walked up to the wall seperating him from the next room, still observing the piece of jewelry.  
  
Breaking out into a grin, Ranma got on one knee, then slowly looked up into the eyes of an invisible companion.  
  
"Mi'lady, I would be greatly honored if you would consent to marry me. Please, let our love last for-"  
  
"HEY!! Can't you two find a better time to do something like that?!"  
  
  
  
Ranma nearly stumbled at the sudden interruption, then realized the voice came from the other side of the wall.  
  
"Uh, sorry, it's just me. Are you okay over there?"  
  
The voice didn't respond for a moment, but when it did, it sounded rather angry.  
  
"Am I okay? Am I OKAY?! I'm trapped in the corner of a room surrounded by flames and burning gas on the top floor of a building that's quickly tearing itself to pieces and you're asking if I'm OKAY?!?!"  
  
Ranma winced slightly. "All right, stupid question. Do you need some help?"  
  
  
  
Ranma could actually hear the person on the other side of the wall trying to calm down.  
  
"Yes, I could use a little help here."  
  
  
  
Ranma shrugged and charged the wall with a barrage of punches, and the reinforced plaster and duracrete crumbled like plywood.  
  
Ranma immediately assessed the situation as "really bad". The fire was everywhere. The room that he was in was a kitchen, and all of the gas lines had ruptured, making the entire room into a maze of flamethrowers. The energy cells that powered the main oven had also burst, bathing the floor of the kitchen in superheated plasma.  
  
  
  
And then he saw her. A young woman, just a couple years younger than he was, huddling behind a metal table that was angled to deflect the flaming spray of a shattered fuel pipe.  
  
'Hm. Smart kid.' The table was only 10 seconds away from being melted through completely, but it had done its job well. It wouldn't matter much longer, however, as the puddle of hot plasma snaked its way to her exact position.  
  
  
  
Ranma quickly decided on a course of action. Whipping out his sidearm blaster from Kami-knows-where, He blasted the same fuel line that was spraying fire at her at a point on the ceiling. A brilliant river of yellow flame flowed from the rupture as the others died,all the fire's fuel being emptied at an earlier point.  
  
Jumping up, Ranma's hand gripped tightly into the ceiling, creating handholds where before there were none. Ranma quickly clambered across the ceiling like a spider, avoiding the raging inferno.  
  
Once he got over to the girl, Ranma quickly dropped from the ceiling. Before the young woman knew what was happening, Ranma scooped her up in his arms and then leapt onto the nearest counter, the fires licking at his legs angrily.  
  
He reached the end of the room in seconds, only pausing to wince from a burn on his thigh. Turning his head, he rapidly located the nearest safe exit, and left the building, just as the primary support beams melted and the titanic structure collapsed in on itself.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Once outside, after avoiding the falling debris and rubble, Ranma laid the girl out on the ground, her form still trembling from the near-death experience.  
  
She was actually quite beautiful, with long emerald green hair and a slim figure, complimented by soft blue eyes.  
  
Ranma moved her skirt up her legs to check her for burns, and she felt like her cheeks had lit up hot as the inferno she had come out of. She hadn't gotten a good look at him before, and being fussed over by a handsome young man just held... a certain appeal to it. So she obediently stayed put, trying not to blush too much as he ran a hand over her leg.  
  
  
  
"Well, there's no serious burns. After we get some cold water on you, you'll be fine."  
  
Ranma flashed her a smile, and the she nearly felt her heart stop. She tried to reply, to thank the man or to ask for his name, but she suddenly found that her mouth had gone dry. She licked her lips and was about to try again, but suddenly the man jolted upright, startling her, and looked around himself frantically.  
  
  
  
Ranma nearly went into a panic. He had been so occupied with making sure the girl was alright, he hadn't even noticed that he was in the middle of a crowd of people. Naturally, with the building he had just escaped from burning down, he should've expected the scene to attract a crowd. When you were on the "top ten most wanted criminals in the galaxy" list, it was generally a bad idea to attract this much attention, especially when you were right in the middle of commiting a crime.  
  
Ranma picked a direction, and was about to flee, when a padded microphone was suddenly shoved in his face, and an attractive female reporter materialized in front of him.  
  
  
  
"Such courage in the face of danger! This man has risked his life to save the ambassador's daughter! Tell me, what were you thinking when you were braving the widespread inferno?"  
  
Ranma stared blankly at the woman, with his mouth hanging half-open.  
  
"Uhhh..............."  
  
"Were you in the building when the fire started?"  
  
His mind still reeling and panicking, Ranma subconsciously latched onto something he could grasp.  
  
"Er... no."  
  
The woman grabbed his arm and spun him around, so that he could clearly see a large camera and a small operating crew pointing straight at him. He froze up like a deer in the headlights.  
  
"INCREDIBLE!!! Risking certain death, this man actually rushed into the building to save any survivors!"  
  
  
  
All over the settlement, at exactly the same moment, about 400 different police officers watching the news spit out their drinks upon seeing who was on it.  
  
  
  
The woman spared him a respectful glance. "I must say, on behalf of all of Keeryu, that our colonies need more people like you!"  
  
"Ah... uh... er..."  
  
Ranma stuttered, his mind having long past gone from panic to outright hysteria.  
  
"May I ask, sir, what is your name?"  
  
The girl he had rescued walked up beside him, also curious as to who her savior was.  
  
Ranma twitched. The reporter, not having gotten any kind of answer, passed her hand back and forth in front of his face, to absolutely no effect.  
  
  
  
Then, like a beacon of light in the middle of a foggy ocean, an opportunity to escape came.  
  
  
  
Ranma pointed toward the still crumbling building, and towards a figure just emerging from it.  
  
"Hey look! Someone else is coming out!"  
  
Everyone immediately turned toward the new figure, and Ranma bolted. The girl, seeing her savior attempting to escape, decided to follow him.  
  
  
  
Rayden pulled himself out of the building's remians, cursing every god he knew of for the structure collapsing while he was still inside. He had just gotten his bag of treasures out of the debris pile, when he felt the stares of a crowd of spectators.  
  
He didn't even get the chance to turn around fully before the reporter was upon him.  
  
"Sir! It would appear that you too have braved the fires of the inferno, and escaped unharmed! What was it like to make your way out?"  
  
Rayden blinked at the suddenness of the question, then gave it a bit of thought.  
  
"Well, the hardest part was getting all the stolen valuables out of the building without too much fire damage."  
  
"....................................................."  
  
  
  
The reporter, as well as the entire crowd, was totally silent for a moment, merely staring at Rayden blankly.  
  
The heavy-set man snapped his fingers suddenly.  
  
"Oh yeah, that reminds me!"  
  
Rayden reached into his trench coat and pulled out a large cylinder, about three feet long and nearly a foot in diameter. The trigger near the handle of the object, plus the big hole at the end of it, was quite enough to identify it as a weapon, while the metal ring that held several smaller cylinders near the rear end of the weapon was enough to identify it as a grenade launcher.  
  
  
  
Rayden pointed the business end of the device at the reporter, who dropped her microphone from her stunned fingers.  
  
"Now, how about you hand over your purse?"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Ranma sighed as he walked down the duracrete road with his hands in his pockets, absently staring at the trees which hadn't been removed for construction yet. The police were probably searching the entire planet for him, so they would have to leave soon.  
  
'Yet another planet I can never go back to again. Not that we could've stayed here long anyway.'  
  
Ranma let out another heartfelt sigh.  
  
'Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it... the stealing... the killing... is it all worth it for a bunch of bank notes?'  
  
He stopped to look at a particularly tall tree, and a smile slowly spread on his face.  
  
'Ah hell, what am I thinking? Of course it is!'  
  
Ranma turned around and prepared to head back to the ship. 'I knew the risks when I took the job. It's time for me to stop feeling sorry for myself and-AH!'  
  
  
  
Ranma struck out with his arm, and nearly crushed the girl's skull with his reflexive attack, his hand stopping just centimeters from her forehead.  
  
Said girl could do little more than freeze in absolute terror, her mind absently wondering over how much force that strike had behind it.  
  
Ranma sighed and retracted his arm, mentally berating himself for letting the girl get close enough to him to surprise him.  
  
  
  
Once the girl seemed to have snapped out of her trance and was breathing normally, Ranma slowly turned to look at her.  
  
"Sorry about that. I get kind of jumpy sometimes. Why'd you follow me?"  
  
The girl blinked, and tried to remember why she followed him, her thoughts trying to pierce the thick cloud of adrenaline reeling in her mind.  
  
"Oh yeah! I just wanted to know who you are. Ya'know, since you saved me and stuff..." she trailed off there, blushing slightly and looking at the ground.  
  
Ranma looked at her, and tried to figure out what she was thinking. However, Ranma had never been good at reading people, especially women, and as such his senses failed to percieve what was obviously the beginning of a full-blown crush.  
  
He sighed. "Name's Ranma Saotome, what's yours?" 'God, please don't let her know that name.'  
  
She beamed a smile at him. "I'm Yuri Xero! Uh, thanks, by the way."  
  
Ranma gave a mental sigh of relief. He didn't need the locals calling for his blood. "No sweat. I'm just glad I got to you in time."  
  
  
  
Yuri blushed some more, and her gaze lowered to the ground as they walked down the street. Then something tugged on her memory, and she frowned slightly.  
  
"Ranma Saotome...... I could swear I've heard that name before." She looked up into Ranma's face, trying not to get distracted by how... attractive he was. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to fit his name into some hole in her mind.  
  
Ranma was sweating. Having already found a nice escape path, he was about to bolt when she spun around a put her finger on his nose.  
  
"Ah HA! You're a famous holovid actor, aren't you?!"  
  
*Bam* Ranma facefaulted.  
  
"Ah, no, not exactly."  
  
Yuri put her finger to her lip in thought, then gave up.  
  
"Then I don't know who you are. I was so sure though! I mean, with your looks, you could easily be an actor!"  
  
Ranma sweatdropped. Once Yuri realized she had said that last part out loud, she blushed heavily and tried to change the subject.  
  
"Uh, well...... yeah, I think I heard your name from my dad..."  
  
Ranma looked at her for a moment. "Your dad? The ambassador, right?"  
  
Yuri nodded. "Right. Ambassador Xero. Have you ever met him?"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "Nope. Isn't he the one that got fried trying to put the moves on some oni girl at a diplomatic conference?"  
  
Yuri winced, all too aware of the only act of her father's that had gained any real publicity.  
  
"Well, yeah, but he is a bachelor, and he swears that he thought she was flirting with him first......"  
  
Ranma grinned. "Don't let it get to ya. We all make mistakes, and-look out!!"  
  
  
  
Yuri looked up in question at that last comment, before Ranma gently pushed her to the side. She looked back to see a large metal cylinder fly into Ranma's palm, right before he swung around, keeping his hand in a wide arc, and tossed it back in the direction it came from with no loss in momentum.  
  
After discarding the projectile, he quickly gathered up Yuri in his arms, and dove for cover behind one of the duracrete housing bunkers right before an explosion went off.  
  
  
  
Yuri glanced up at him fearfully as he held her tightly against the wall of the bunker.  
  
"Was that a-"  
  
"Fragmentation grenade, maximum yield." Ranma replied, not taking his eyes off the corner of the house.  
  
'That's heavy-duty stuff. Definitely military level. But the officials would never use military in the middle of a residental area, so that must mean it's......'  
  
  
  
As if to confirm his thoughts, a 13 foot tall mech landed in front of the pair, jump jets blazing. It landed facing opposite them, and quickly tried to turn around to bring its weapons to bear. Painted in bright blue letters across the calf of the machine was Shade.  
  
"Yuri, get out of here!" Ranma yelled as he charged the machine.  
  
Yuri's eyes widened in shock, not only because they were currently under attack by heavy assault units, but also because Ranma had actually charged one of those units while unarmed.  
  
The pilot wasn't much better, except that his was derived more from the confidence that there was no way that this man could possibly harm him behind the thick plates of ironix shielding his body.  
  
Ranma gave the armored trooper 8 swift kicks in different parts of his armored suit, then turned back to Yuri.  
  
"C'mon, get out of here!"  
  
Yuri stared at the mech, idly wondering why it hadn't fired yet. "But what about-"  
  
"Don't worry about me! But things'll be getting ugly soon, and I don't want any bystanders getting hurt!"  
  
Yuri looked at Ranma for a moment, then nodded and scrambled into the bunker.  
  
  
  
Inside the mech, the pilot was now quite frustrated. This frustration stemmed from many sources: society, government, the state of the current economy, his less-than-satisfactory paycheck; but mostly from the fact that the jerk that he was sent here to kill had managed to trash all major power junctions to the limbs of his mech, making him completely helpless, and the stupid cretin didn't even use a weapon!  
  
Smashing the comm button in frustration, he spoke into it hastily.  
  
"I need some backup here! Get over to me!"  
  
The comm was silent for a moment, then a voice spoke up.  
  
"We gotcha covered! Which direction are you headed in?"  
  
The pilot winced, then spoke. "I 'aint goin' nowhere now! Get over here!"  
  
Another voice came from the speaker.  
  
"If you're not pursuing him, which way is he headed?"  
  
The pilot growled. "He's not headed anywhere either! He's right here! Come and get 'im!"  
  
"But we don't see any explosions or weapons discharges... where are you?"  
  
"I'M RIGHT HERE WHERE I LANDED MORON!!!"  
  
"Er... then why aren't you shooting at him?"  
  
"IF I COULD I WOULD, BUT I CAN'T, SO GET OVER HERE BEFORE I DEMOTE YOU TO PRIVATE!!!!!"  
  
"But I'm already a private, and so are you, so you couldn't demote me even if I-"  
  
*Crash* *Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt*  
  
His comlink destroyed, the pilot of Mongol 07 proceeded to take out his frustrations upon his mech's internal systems.  
  
  
  
Outside the helpless piece of battle armor, Ranma took out his blaster rifle and held his position right in front of the heavy machine, ready to jump behind it if he ever needed to use the hulk of ironix as a shield.  
  
He was surprised when he suddenly heard explosions, and wondered just what was going on. If they weren't shooting at him, that meant that either they had met up with the planet's ground forces, the Galactic Police's ground forces, or......  
  
Ranma jumped up on top of the housing bunker, abandoning the powerless fighting machine. Looking around the area, he quickly spotted the orangish-red liquid clouds that marked the presence of plasma grenades. Fortunately, they were at Shade's end of the battlefield.  
  
Firing off the superheated explosives was Rayden, crouched next to what used to be an agricultural station. He was cornered, but he was also taking down an armored suit with nearly every shot. The tanks were more of a problem, since they didn't have any joints to burn off. Either way, Ranma was sure his friend wouldn't last long if nobody intervened.  
  
The powered armor was low-quality, but still effective enough for battlefield use. Mongols had the standard light assault mech chassis, with backward-bent knees and armored thighs and calves for the legs, and a laser cannon and powered claw on the arms. They were also equipped with shoulder-mounted fragmentation grenade launchers, obviously for anti- infantry use.  
  
  
  
Quickly scanning the area to make sure that there were no soldiers around to shoot at him, Ranma took aim and fired into one of the armored troopers. The pilot never knew what hit him as a spear of white energy stabbed into the ammo supply of his grenade launcher and exploded, sending much of the arm with it.  
  
A few soldiers turned to attack the newcomer, when a plasma grenade completed its arc right into their midst, blowing a huge gouge in one and effectively stunning the others. Ranma disabled the energy cannon on another of the mechs with a quick laser shot, but didn't get the chance to take advantage of the others when he was forced to jump off the roof of the bunker.  
  
  
  
The thermal detonator hit the roof right where Ranma had been standing, bouncing twice before exploding and sending up a shower of duracrete.  
  
Ranma looked around the area calmly, trying to find where the object had originated from. Thermal detonators were far more expensive ordinance than grenades, which meant that whoever, or whatever was wielding them wasn't some wanna-be rookie.  
  
  
  
"Hyah!"  
  
The shout came from behind him, and acting on reflexes that had taken years to hone, Ranma leapt up and kicked downward, knocking his airborne assailant down into the crater that his weapon had made.  
  
Ranma assessed his attacker as the man got up, an expression of pure rage on his face.  
  
'Hmmm. Fangs. Black and gold armor. Bandanna. Black hair. I think I've seen this guy before, but where? Whoever he is, he's got guts coming on to me with no power armor or nothing.'  
  
  
  
"So what, now Shade's sending in the commandos?"  
  
Ryoga looked at his prey furiously, then slowly let a smile play across his features.  
  
"If only you were so lucky! This is the end Ranma!"  
  
Ranma gave him a flat stare.  
  
"The end. Really. Well, I must say, you really don't look like the type to take me down so easily, and I don't see no army or battle fleet behind you."  
  
Ryoga stood up fully and dusted himself off.  
  
"I don't need one! I'll kill you by myself! You'll pay for what you've done to me!"  
  
Ranma frowned at this. He may have had an infamous reputation, but he always liked to keep all personal vendettas to a minimum.  
  
"What, did I capture a ship that you were protecting or something? Who are you anyway?"  
  
Ryoga snarled and charged at him, a vibroblade emerging from his arm gauntlet as he stuck his hand forward to slice into his opponent.  
  
"I'M RYOGA HIBIKI, AND NOW YOU DIE!!!"  
  
Ranma's eyes widened, and he jumped over the charging bounty hunter, giving him a kick in the back while on his descent.  
  
  
  
"Now I remember, Ryoga Hibiki, from flight school! How ya been, big guy?"  
  
Ryoga recovered from the kick instantly, then turned around as he pulled a sidearm from his belt.  
  
"Miserable, thanks to you!"  
  
Ranma danced and twisted around the blaster bolts, not terribly impressed by the larger man's aim.  
  
"What's wrong, did ya get lost and end up on the wrong planet again?"  
  
Ryoga put his blaster away and extended his arm blade again, then closed in with Ranma. Ranma just barely managed to keep out of reach as Ryoga swung wildly at him.  
  
"Hey, what are you so mad at me for?"  
  
Ryoga growled at another near miss.  
  
"Shut up and let me kill you!"  
  
Ranma flipped over a vertical swing and brought his foot down in a somersault kick right on Ryoga's head.  
  
"Is this about how you missed graduation because I couldn't find you in time to lead you there? You know I tried, man!"  
  
Ryoga swung at Ranma's neck, only to have his target duck and then give him an uppercut to the jaw before backing off.  
  
"Or is this one of those 'rival' things where you have to kill me because I always did better than you did?"  
  
Ryoga's right gauntlet opened up to reveal some sort of weapon with a horizontal slot barrel, and the Lost Hunter aimed it at his bounty.  
  
"This is for everything! Every single little thing you've ever done to humiliate me or make my life miserable!! DIE!!!"  
  
Ryoga fired, and a yellow disc of light emerged and whizzed by Ranma, only to slice right through another duracrete bunker behind him.  
  
Ryoga kept it up, and Ranma was forced backwards from the deadly projectiles.  
  
"This is for the tests that I failed because I got lost and was never there in time! This is for all the simulator scenarios I lost because I couldn't set the hyperspace coordinates right! For all the lunches I missed!! For the time that I accidentally found my way into the girl's locker room!! For my getting thrown out of the military because I destroyed a few walls getting to the bathroom!! For my girlfriend leaving me!!!"  
  
Ranma sweatdropped as another energy disc flew past his head.  
  
"Er, how is any of that my fault?"  
  
  
  
Ryoga actually stopped to consider this, getting more frustrated than ever as he failed to make any logical connections in his mind. Then his mind's admittedly rusty gears made a slow turn, and a little light bulb popped into existance over his head.  
  
"Well, it is your fault that Sakura left me! Don't try and deny that!"  
  
Ranma blinked. "What? But she told me that she left you 'cause you stood her up so many times, getting lost and all."  
  
Now it was Ryoga's turn to blink. "What? B-but, I made all our dates on time... at least up until graduation..."  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his head in thought. "Graduation? But when we went out she said that you'd broken up just recently, before the second semester..."  
  
It took exactly 2.08 seconds for Ranma's brain to realize what he had just said, and to whom.  
  
"Eh heh heh heh heh... did I say we went out? I meant when we, uh, studied together! Yeah, that's it!"  
  
*Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo* *Choo*  
  
Ranma ran as fast he could into the forest, just barely avoiding the hundreds of energy discs and laser blasts trying to dig into his back.  
  
Ranma didn't even dare look back until some of the trees behind him started falling down, attributing Ryoga's wavering aim to the increased distance between them.  
  
  
  
Up ahead, Ranma spotted an open area behind a large bush, and leapt over it, heading straight into a clearing......  
  
  
  
And right off a cliff.  
  
  
  
Ranma barely had time to grab onto a rock jutting out of the cliff face before he had gone completely over the edge, and onto the sharp crags below.  
  
Cursing his rotten luck, Ranma pulled himself up to the ledge, only to be suddenly hoisted up by his flight vest, as something grabbed onto him.  
  
Ranma groaned inwardly as he saw Ryoga's grinning face. Then he gulped inwardly as Ryoga shoved his energy disc projector into his gut, making it clear that any movement would bring him a swift end.  
  
  
  
"Well Ranma, you put up a good fight, but it looks like I win anyway."  
  
Ranma glared at him, though he knew there was nothing he could do at this point. Still......  
  
"So Ryoga, what're waiting for?"  
  
Ryoga raised an eyebrow and looked over Ranma's shoulder.  
  
"Oh, I just thought that maybe you'd like to see something important before you die. I really wouldn't be satisfied to just kill you right off the bat, anyway."  
  
Ranma blinked. "Show me what?"  
  
Ryoga held Ranma out over the edge of the cliff, and then gestured for Ranma to look down. Ranma did so, then gasped at what he saw.  
  
  
  
The most noticeable thing was a wide trail of blood leading behind one of the larger crags beneath the cliff. The second most noticeable thing was the small group of heavily armed war machines blowing away at the area, making the rock barriers fairly useless as far as shielding went. The third most noticeable thing was Rayden, trying vainly to hide behind the rocks and bleeding all over the place.  
  
  
  
Ryoga smirked. "Well well, it looks like you're not the only one that's going down today. At least you'll have company in hell!"  
  
Ranma looked away from the scene below, then jerked his head upward to look at something over Ryoga's shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I'll see you there."  
  
Ryoga blinked, and was about to look behind him, when something snapped to attention in his mind.  
  
He laughed. "Oh please! Did you really think I'd fall for such a stupid-"  
  
*Scree*  
  
An extremely hot, white bolt of energy shot past Ryoga, continuing forth to stab deeply into one of the tanks below. It exploded immediately, showering metal plates and fragments over its two companions.  
  
The other tanks, as well as the mechs which had stepped onto the crags to kick Rayden around before they finished him off, all focused their attention upward, where they saw the Wild Horse, in all its red, fiery glory, slowly eclipsing the sun as it passed overhead.  
  
The Wild Horse's belly turrets blazed overhead, raining spears of white death upon the Shade forces. The tanks were pierced all the way through to the ground, and their ordinance detonated from the lances of sheer heat, sending metal flying. The armored troopers didn't get off so lucky, being instantly vaporized by the heavy turbolasers.  
  
In seconds, the remnants of the Shade's ground forces had been completely wiped out.  
  
  
  
Ryoga's jaw dropped as he watched the units get trashed one by one. Then, very slowly, he turned around, just as the shadow of the legendary light frigate engulfed him.  
  
It was probably just the shock of the occurence, not actually fear, that led him to remove his fist from Ranma's stomach.  
  
But whatever it was, Ranma wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. He kicked Ryoga hard against the jaw, sending the Lost Hunter into a nearby tree. Then he whipped out his blaster, aiming it at his foe.  
  
Ranma grinned. "Well looky here. Looks like my luck hasn't run out quite yet, huh?"  
  
Ryoga was trembling with barely restrained anger, only the knowledge that a well-aimed blaster bolt to the face could just barely kill him keeping him from charging.  
  
Ranma's grin only got wider. "Don't worry about it. I'm not gonna kill ya. At least not like this."  
  
*Bweeooh* *bweeooh* *Ka-kroom!*  
  
Ryoga's gauntlets exploded, making the weapons they held totally useless.  
  
Ranma pocketed his blaster. "I say we make this a fair fight. Whadd'ya say?"  
  
Ryoga looked at him for a moment, and then started chuckling.  
  
"I'd say that that's the biggest mistake you've ever made! HYAH!!"  
  
  
  
Ryoga charged at Ranma, who, to the Lost Hunter's surprise, actually charged back.  
  
What really surprised Ryoga though, was when Ranma fell onto his back and grabbed Ryoga's outstretched fist, throwing the larger man over him and toward the edge of the cliff.  
  
Ryoga just managed to scramble away from the edge and get up, when he was struck 8 times in chest from Ranma's blaster.  
  
  
  
Ryoga gritted his teeth against the pain as smoke wafted out of the holes in his armor.  
  
"I though you said this was going to be a fair fight..."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes.  
  
"Only an idiot expects a pirate to keep his word. Which is probably why I'm not surprised right now."  
  
Ranma popped the battery pack out of the blaster, retrieved another one from his pocket, and slapped it into the weapon.  
  
"You know Ryoga, you made a big mistake back there. Not in attacking me, or trying to kill me, lord knows everyone's tried that..."  
  
Ranma focused a glare on the Lost Hunter, who could only just barely glare back.  
  
"But when you showed me how Rayden was doing and then made that comment about him going down... well that just plain pissed me off."  
  
Ranma looked down, as if contemplating the turn of events. Then he aimed the blaster at Ryoga's chest.  
  
"Don't mess with my friends. They've all I've got. Capeesh?"  
  
*Bweeooh*  
  
  
  
Ryoga jolted backward in pain as the lance of energy stabbed into his chest, almost sending him over the edge of the cliff. Then he was sent over, courtesy of a kick to the stomach from Ranma.  
  
  
  
As Ryoga plummeted toward the rocks below, Ranma shook his head as he pocketed the blaster.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
"HELLO RANMA. WELCOME BACK ABOARD."  
  
Ranma smiled as he helped Rayden into the med room aboard the Wild Horse.  
  
"Thanks Rac. Good timing, by the way. Power systems all up and running?"  
  
"NEGATIVE. POWER IS AT 85%. AUTO-REPAIR SYSTEMS ARE FUNCTIONAL, HOWEVER."  
  
Ranma nodded. "Right. Make sure you get Rayden all patched up, all right?"  
  
  
  
A new voice entered the room.  
  
"Oh, so how is it that Rac gets credit for coming to the rescue?"  
  
Ranma smiled at Arak as the smaller man walked into the med room.  
  
"Well, 'cause he's the one with the guns, obviously. How are you?"  
  
Arak looked at Rayden's comatose form.  
  
"In better shape than he's in. Multiple fractures, plasma scarring, tons of energy burns, shrapnel shoved in his face; did he try and take on the planet's entire ground battalion or what?"  
  
There was a groan from the table.  
  
"It sure feels like it......"  
  
Ranma shook his head.  
  
"Rayden, how many times have I told you to fall back when you're outgunned?"  
  
"I did. Problem was, they had those darn guns that seemed to keep aiming right at my back....."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, just take it easy, all right?"  
  
Rayden groaned again. "Couldn't you at least have taken out the grenade fragment in my leg. It hurts like hell......"  
  
Ranma flinched slightly. "I would have, but I was afraid that it was the only thing holding in the rest of your blood."  
  
  
  
Arak closed the lid over the med table, and Rayden's tube started to fill with medical bacta.  
  
"He'll be fine. His regenerative abilities just barely managed to get him through this one alive, though."  
  
Ranma nodded, then looked thoughtful.  
  
"Well, now that our systems are back online, I say we pay our tormentors a little visit."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Up above, in orbit, the Steel Hawk and two other frigates disguised as cargo freighters stood watch over the planet, waiting for a report from their ground forces.  
  
The atmosphere was so tense, that nobody really listened to the guy who thought he saw a big ripple out in space.  
  
They regretted it soon, as the foreboding image of the Wild Horse appeared on their scanners, materializing seemingly from nowhere.  
  
The ships' crews rushed to their battlestations.  
  
  
  
2/3 of them never got there, however, as the huge orange tachyon beam that was Arak's aptly named Apocalypse Cannon tore through the hulls of two of the ships, passing through the shields and armor effortlessly as bulkheads were dematerialized into their component atoms.  
  
  
  
The crew of the Steel Hawk could only stare in horror at the pure destructive force of the ship.  
  
Unfortunately, this cost them any opportunity to get in a hit for their fallen comrades, as the Wild Horse wasted no time in turning around and escaping into hyperspace.  
  
  
  
Also quite unfortunately, the Wild Horse's presence attracted the attention of the Galactic Police forces, who immediately decided to investigate the remaining frigate.  
  
  
  
If you happened to be a Shade operative at the time, life just plain sucked.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________ ________  
  
  
  
Over on the Wild Horse, the mood was just a tad more jovial.  
  
"Good work Rac, Arak. How 'bout we get a drink?"  
  
  
  
Ranma pulled out some Corellian brandy from a storage housing, and Arak took it.  
  
"I almost feel guilty drinking this stuff with Rayden still being patched back together."  
  
Arak looked at him.  
  
"Almost. Cheers!"  
  
  
  
Their celebration was cut short by one of Rac's floating drone spheres, its little red sensor light flashing a warning.  
  
"I REGRET TO INFORM YOU AT THIS TIME, BUT WE HAVE A PROBLEM."  
  
Ranma slapped his forehead. "Great. Now what?"  
  
"I HAVE DETECTED A STOWAWAY ONBOARD."  
  
Ranma's gaze hardened. "Really. And why didn't you notice before?"  
  
"SYSTEMS WERE NOT UP TO FULL POWER. SCANNING WAS CONSIDERED LOW PRIORITY THEN."  
  
Ranma sighed. "All right, bring him here."  
  
"THAT WILL BE DIFFICULT."  
  
Ranma blinked. "Uh, why?"  
  
Then, in answer, a voice sounded through the hallway of the ship.  
  
"All right, all right, I'm going! You don't need to push!"  
  
Ranma's left eye twitched as he realized that he knew that voice.  
  
Arak blinked. "It's a girl."  
  
  
  
There, being led into the bridge by Unit 01, was Yuri Xero.  
  
  
  
************************************************************************** ********  
  
  
  
End Chapter 5 


	6. The Morcan Menace

Supernova  
  
Chapter 6  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. If I owned Ranma or the Star Wars universe, I'd be living it big, eating caviar and swimming laps in my olympic-sized root beer pool, and I could simply pay someone else to do stuff like this...... great, now I'm depressed again. Just read it, will ya?  
  
  
  
Chapter 6  
  
The Morcan Menace  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
Unit 01 was one of the robots that Rayden had created and Arak had perfected. It had everything standard on a regular labor droid, plus Arak's prototype plasma cannons and special armor. The speed and power output had been increased, and a computer uplink had been added, making the powerful robots another of RAC's drones. It was the perfect machine, capable of manual labor and intense combat, plus possessing a mind of which few humans could hope to match.  
  
Right now, the oversized automaton was busy holding a young girl in front of its master, keeping her from escaping if need be.  
  
  
  
Ranma groaned and massaged his forehead. Arak frowned.  
  
"Well, so we have a stowaway. What are we gonna do about this, huh?"  
  
Ranma remained silent with his hands still held over his eyes.  
  
Arak smirked and walked up to the young woman, looking her right in the eyes. Yuri simply blinked, unaware of what she had gotten herself into.  
  
"My, such a pretty thing, too. What a waste. How shall we deal with you, eh? Throw you out the airlock? Disintigrate you? Dissect you and use your organs to fix Shikodan up quicker?"  
  
Yuri went pale as a sheet. "For-for stowing away? Y-y-you c-can't be serious!"  
  
Arak gave her a flat stare. "This is a pirate ship dearie. What were you expecting, a welcome party? Augh!"  
  
Ranma lifted Arak up by his shirt and threw him into one of the chairs. "Will you cut that out? You're gonna give her a heart attack."  
  
Yuri looked up to Ranma fearfully, her earlier wonder and adoration being quickly replaced with horror. "You... you're a pirate?"  
  
Ranma nodded, as if the fact should have been obvious and was of no importance. "Yeah, I'm a pirate. Mind explainin' why you hid on board?"  
  
Yuri tried to answer, but either through fear or excitement, she couldn't remember. "I... I... I don't really know... I just wanted to, um......"  
  
Ranma sighed. "Unit 01, let her go." The robot released Yuri immediately, then turned around and left down the hall.  
  
Yuri gulped. "You... you're not really going to kill me, are you?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, we're not gonna kill you. Unfortunately, we can't return you, either. Everyone on that huge chunk of rock we just left is trying to kill us." Ranma plopped down in one of the large white chairs, and steepled his fingers under his chin.  
  
"Well, it looks like we'll just have to drop you off somewhere else. You got a home?" He glanced over at her, and she gulped.  
  
"I, uh, Daddy has a place on Morcan III... I suppose I could stay there..." She felt paralyzed simply by the unreality of the situation. To have stowed away on a pirate ship!  
  
Ranma nodded. "Morcan III it is, then. Arak, set a course."  
  
"Hmph. A real pirate would've just killed her," Arak grumbled as he walked over to the navigation panel.  
  
"Yeah, well you can call me a fake pirate then. We don't need to involve innocents in this." Ranma turned back to Yuri, who had a very surprised look on her face. "Unit 01'll take you to a guest room. From then on, Rac'll be your host. He'll explain everything until we get to Morcan."  
  
Yuri blinked, and then felt the hardened metal of Unit 01's "hands" poke into her back, leading her into the hallway and away from the bridge.  
  
  
  
Arak watched her go, then turned to Ranma. "She has a crush on you, you know."  
  
Ranma stumbled, and almost fell out of his chair. "What? How do you know?"  
  
Arak rolled his eyes. "1: I've only known three heterosexual human women that have seen you that didn't develop a crush on you over time. 2: Following you is the only half-way reasonable explanation for her coming aboard. 3: I saw the look in her eyes when she saw you before I told her we were pirate,." Arak finished, ticking off the points on his fingers.  
  
Ranma just ignored him. "You're reading into this too much. We're just gonna fly to Morcan, drop her off, then get this heap fixed. That's that. Whether or not she's got a 'crush' doesn't matter. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe that blinking red light means we're leaking atmosphere into space." Ranma jumped out of his chair and rushed out of the bridge, leaving Arak alone and confused.  
  
Arak turned around, and stared at the glaring crimson button.  
  
"Oh, bugger. I thought I fixed that hole."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"I can't believe it. He's a pirate! A real, live, space pirate! Oh why oh why did I sneak aboard this thing? I'm gonna get myself killed!" Yuri would've stopped to bang her head on the wall, but was still under the watchful eye (and itchy plasma cannon) of unit 01.  
  
So instead she sighed submissively and trudged behind the towering robot, eventually coming to a small room. She was surprised that it wasn't actually a holding cell, but a full-sized officer's room, complete with a fairly large bed and dresser.  
  
She heard a beep, then turned around to see a moniter on an actuated metal arm come down from the ceiling to face her. It activated, showing a small red lens.  
  
"I AM RAC, SUPER-SENTIENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. AS YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE STAYING HERE A WHILE, I SHALL LAY DOWN A FEW GROUND RULES."  
  
The screen blinked, and a layout of the main floor of the Wild Horse appeared. "THIS IS THE WILD HORSE. YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE SHIP, WHERE PERSONNEL QUARTERS, LIVING FACILITIES, AND THE BRIDGE IS LOCATED. MAKE SURE TO STAY IN THIS AREA. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE SHOT." A large area of the forward section of the ship was suddenly highlighted in green, while most of the back area was highlighted red.  
  
Yuri flinched.  
  
The layout was cleared of color, and then several small areas of red appeared, mostly on the bridge, but a few squares in other areas, though most were back in the restricted area. "THESE ARE CONSOLES THAT CAN BE USED TO CONTROL THE SHIP, CONTACT OR USE CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF MINE, OR JUST PLAY A QUICK GAME OF TETRIS. YOU WILL NOT BE TOUCHING THEM. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL BE SHOT."  
  
Yuri gulped, but nodded for the computer to continue.  
  
The layout changed yet again, this time to different various areas distributed widely around the ship, though once again they were clustered in the bridge and rear sections of the ship. "THESE ARE ACCESS HATCHES OF SYSTEM PATHWAYS. THEY ARE NOT TO BE TAMPERED WITH, EXCEPT BY A MEMBER OF THE CREW. OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU CHOOSE TO TAMPER WITH THEM ANYWAY, YOU WILL BE SHOT."  
  
Yuri sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm starting to see a pattern here..." she mumbled bitterly.  
  
The layout cleared once again, and this time several small pathways near the outer hull were shown. "THESE ARE THE ESCAPE POD ACCESS HATCHES. I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'RE FOR. SURPRISINGLY, YOU MAY USE ONE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT GETTING SHOT, THOUGH I DON'T REALLY SEE THE POINT."  
  
Yuri sweatdropped, then flopped down backward onto her bed.  
  
The moniter adjusted to her new line of sight, and the layout now showed three large red areas, rather clos to each other, and all in the "accessible" part of the ship. "THESE ARE THE CURRENT CREW'S QUARTERS. THE ONE ON TOP IS CAPTAIN SAOTOME'S, THE BIGGEST ONE IS TETSUMI'S, AND THE OTHER ONE IS SHIKODAN'S. I HAVE NO ORDERS REGARDING WHAT TO DO SHOULD YOU WANDER IN ONE OF THESE ROOMS, THOUGH I WOULDN'T PUSH YOUR LUCK IF I WERE YOU. ESPECIALLY WITH RAYDEN. HE HAS A FETISH FOR VIOLENCE. THAT IS ALL. ENJOY YOUR STAY."  
  
The moniter retracted itself, leaving Yuri to curl up in her covers while thinking about her current situation. She would have cried, but oddly enough, felt that crying was totally inappropriate for her predicament. So instead, she laid her head down, and slept.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Morcan III was a colony planet. This in itself was hardly noteworthy. Most civilized worlds were not populated by the species that evolved there, but by other species that moved in before sentient life could develop.  
  
However, Morcan III had been colonized recently, and the only city on the globe was Charita, a trading city enclosed in a transparisteel dome with a space port.  
  
Morcan III had absolutely no useful mineral deposits, and its atmosphere was barely above survivable level for standard oxygen-breathers. However, it did have a useful position, as Morcan's sun was a common gravity well that ran through over 170 hyperspace routes commonly used by traders. In truth, the Wild Horse had been notorious for hitting this same system every couple of months, though they left the colony alone.  
  
Thus, Morcan III had a huge and effeciently run spaceport right outside the dome, with over 30 ships belonging to the government of Morcan, and over 60 more privately owned vessels speeding in and out each day.  
  
They also had excellent scanners, in order to detect and organize space traffic.  
  
  
  
"Sir, we're reading an exit from hyperspace." The tech at the control glanced worriedly at the display. His supervisor simply nodded.  
  
"Uh, sir, the exit is unusually far off. The course intercepts tell us it's probably headed here, but it's much farther away than it should be."  
  
This got the supervisor's attention. "What? Are they pirates? What's the readout on the approaching ship?"  
  
The tech looked ready to say something, then frowned. "I don't think so sir. The deep-space scanner readouts are all very odd... they're not close enough for us to get a good reading. Wait! I'm detecting more hyperspace exits!"  
  
The supervisor stepped back and grimaced. He could only think of one reason why someone would warp in so far away from the planet when they intended to move there anyway. If a large war fleet had been moving in, the best thing to do would be to stop and gather just out of effective scanning range, then move in after they were coordinated. Fortunately, they didn't seem to realize the effectiveness of the new scanners.  
  
'But why would a war fleet attack here? Possibly for supplies... which means it's probably another Imperial warlord's fleet or something.'  
  
"Keep scanning the incoming ships and alert me to any new developments. Communications, issue a warning to the city and prepare in case of evacuation. Fleet command, send out a scout ship to make contact and send us more data."  
  
The various people in the room all confirmed their orders and the alarm was readied.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Dell hated his job.  
  
Most people thought it was exciting and noble to be a fighter pilot in today's mess of constant wars and space battles. Heck, he had thought so himself.  
  
And it was exciting sometimes. Heart attack level exciting. The kind of exciting that sends so much adrenaline into your body you can't even think straight.  
  
But the rest of the time it was so blasted boring!  
  
Take this mission, for example. He was to take out a fighter, unarmed and refitted with a multitude of scanners, and contact a huge fleet while sendng data back to HQ. He couldn't shoot anything if he wanted to. Damn commander, if he'd known that that little practical joke involving Yammil Lice would've landed him scout duty, he never would have pulled it.  
  
  
  
He was so busy griping about how incredibly unfair it all was, that he never got a good look at the opposing fleet until his console beeped to inform him that he was within scanning range.  
  
Dell was utterly baffled by what he saw. The biggest ship, which had warped in third, remotely resembled a Mon Calamari cruiser, except less........ metallic.  
  
It was larger than the massive warships, for one thing. The entire hull of the thing was blue with webs of black stretched across it, and was in an incredibly bizarre shape; it was as if someone took several huge ovals of hull and mashed them together. Again, reminiscent of Mon Calamari design, but at the same time very different. Poking out of the ovals at what seemed like random intervals were large dark blue crystals. There were only 2-4 crystals on each oval, and they only appeared to be on the areas directly exposed to space.  
  
Looking around, Dell saw that the other ships just seemed to be made up of one of the same ovals that made up the large ship, except those ones had strange-looking tails on the end which he assumed to be engines of some sort, and a single larger crystal on the front of the vessel.  
  
  
  
"HQ, are you gettin' this?"  
  
*Roger. Continue scanning, and hail them.*  
  
Dell looked at his controls. "That might be a problem HQ."  
  
*Why?*  
  
"I'm not picking up any communications receiver to send a message to."  
  
*.................... Yes, that would be a problem. We're trying to interpret the data you're sending us. Please stand by.*  
  
  
  
Dell nodded and was about to check his scanners again when he noticed one of the smaller ship's crystals lighting up.  
  
He wasn't able to dodge in time as a small white pinnacle of energy hit his fighter.  
  
He blinked. Considering that appeared to be the only weapon on the alien ship, he'd have expected it to be more powerful. Looking at his shield gauge, he saw that his shields hadn't been damaged at all, though another one of his scanners showed that he was now emitting some kind of weird energy signal.  
  
Then the crystal lit up much more brightly than before, and a lightning bolt shot toward him, instantly frying the shield and utterly destroying the scout fighter.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Yuri was out of bed exploring the ship again. Though it was probably much safer to stay in the room, where she wouldn't get shot, it was still boring enough to prompt some exploration. She was, of course, taking every precaution to stay away from the rear sections of the ship, and that took a lot of the fun out of it, but she'd rather be alive and bored than, well, dead.  
  
She remembered the first time she'd ever been on a space ship traveling on a hyperspace run. It was new and exciting then, and she had spent the entire trip looking at everything in the ship and asking the people nearby how the equipment worked. She was quite sure she annoyed the hell out of everyone else on board, but she had wanted to get on the return trip as soon as possible.  
  
Ever since then, she had taken many more trips, and discovered that space travel was actually quite monotonous. Especially on those well-maintained diplomatic ships. There was never anything interesting on those heaps. She was greatly disappointed that her first trip aboard a warship had to be under such circumstances. But then, who wouldn't be?  
  
  
  
She stopped in front of the ship's sick bay as she heard some movement inside.  
  
The door opened, and she found herself looking at somebody's bare chest. Looking up, she saw Rayden blinking at her in confusion.  
  
They stared at each other for a few moments more.  
  
Rayden stuck out a hand. "Rayden Shikodan, ship mechanic and pilot of the Dark Angel. And you are?"  
  
Yuri shook his hand, remembering her lessons on diplomacy and tact. "Yuri Xero. I'm a stowaway. Nice to meet you."  
  
Rayden nodded. "Very good. You get on when we left Keeryu?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"You an enemy spy waiting to sabotage the ship at a moment's notice and leave us all to die while you jet away in an excape pod?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
Rayden smiled. "Good. We should get along just fine then." He found his shirt hanging on the outside of the door and put it on.  
  
One of Rac's spheres floated by. "AH, SHIKODAN. I TRUST YOU'RE WELL?"  
  
Rayden nodded. "Well enough. Damn scars'll take weeks to fade, but I can fly if I have to."  
  
"EXCELLENT. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF RETURNING MS. XERO TO MORCAN III. WE WILL BE COMING OUT OF HYPERSPACE IN 4 MINUTES. YURI, YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED ON THE BRIDGE." the sphere wandered off a bit, disappearing around a corner.  
  
Rayden clapped Yuri on the back. "Well, c'mon kid, let's get you back home." Yuri sighed and nodded.  
  
  
  
The pair entered the bridge to find Ranma and Arak watching several displays. Ranma turned and greeted them.  
  
"Ah, Yuri, Rayden, good to see you! How are you holding up, old buddy?"  
  
Rayden shrugged. "Pretty good. Still a bit sore though. Let's drop her off and get this thing to a good dock so I can fix 'er up."  
  
Ranma nodded. "In good time. Yuri, you want anything before you leave?"  
  
Yuri blushed slightly as she was once again the center of attention. "Uh, no, not really."  
  
To be perfectly honest, Yuri wasn't looking forward to going home nearly as much as she thought she'd want to. The whole experience with being kidnapped had been exciting, despite everything else, as well as mostly painless. For pirates, these guys didn't seem half bad (well, Rayden and Ranma didn't. Rac and his creator creeped her out big time).  
  
Ranma smiled at her. "Well then, we'll just-"  
  
"EMERGENCY HYPERSPACE TRANSMISSION." Rac's metallic voice rang out in the bridge, interrupting Ranma.  
  
"What?"  
  
"MESSAGE READS AS FOLLOWS: MORCAN III UNDER ATTACK BY UNKNOWN ALIEN FORCE. EVACUATION OF PLANET HAS BEEN ISSUED, BUT ENEMY BLOCKADE IMPEDING ESCAPE. PLEASE SEND REINFORCEMENTS."  
  
Ranma was about to ask something when the ship lurched slightly, and the ship entered the haze of blue that signalled the end of its hyperspace run.  
  
"What the blazes.......?" Rayden looked on in awe at the scene that was placed before them.  
  
  
  
The alien ships had surrounded any feasible escape vector from Charita, and had locked in the escaping forces with a blockade of smaller battleships cutting off the escape routes, with the main ship slowly crawling toward the planet itself.  
  
Morcan III had its own defense fleet, which was unusual for a colony of its size, but vital in such situations as this. These ships were currently trying to punch a hole in the blockade so that the transports could get through. Many of the traders that were currently docked at the spaceport contributed to the effort by using their ships as transports, along with the few standard transports that made up Morcan's fleet.  
  
Unfortunately, the alien weapons proved deadly against all capital ships, as their strange crystal weapons would emit ribbons of plasma that would sear and melt away the shields and hull, and wouldn't stop until the entire structure they were attacking had been destroyed. The Nebulon-B frigate had been destroyed in 2 minutes, while the modified Corellian Corvette had been taken down in under a minute, with the help of a second alien vessel.  
  
Luckily fighters seemed to evade the "tagging" blasts of the crystals fairly easily, and so were quickly employed to take out the smaller oval ships. That's when the alien fighters had been deployed.  
  
Roughly spherical, with a fringed hole in the back and a spiked hole in the front, the strange... things went down easily, but hunted their targets relentlessly. They weren't very fast, and their weapons, which was some sort of short-ranged energy ball, wasn't very powerful. However, the things seemed to be in total control of their manueverabiliy in space, able to seemingly ignore the laws of momentum as they easily trailed the fighters wherever they went.  
  
  
  
Thus it was the vision that greeted those aboard the Wild Horse. Fighters, both alien and human were blown apart left and right, the former exploding in a cloud of blood and flesh, which only served to further confuse the hell out of the crew. Meanwhile, the huge bulbous command cruiser slowly lurched toward the cornered fleet, promising death to its targets.  
  
Yuri was in hysterics. "What's going on? What are those things? Why are they attacking Morcan?" nobody had any answers for her, so they mostly ignored her.  
  
Ranma was the leader. Therefore it was up to him to act. He assessed the situation, and made his decision.  
  
"This sucks. This really, really sucks. Damn. Okay, Rayden, get into your fighter and prepare to launch with me on my signal. Rac, assess how much damage those little oval things can take, then divide up our missile and torpedo launchers among the targets to take 'em out. Don't fire until me and Shikodan are away. Arak, once all the nearest small vessels have been destroyed, charge up your tach gun and see if you can't do something about that big ship. Got it?"  
  
"Right." Rayden grimaced and ran for the docking bay.  
  
"Gotcha boss." Arak started making out calculations.  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE. PROCESSING...... TARGETS LOCKED ON. MISSILE AND TORPEDO LAUNCHERS ONLINE. ON YOUR MARK, CAPTAIN."  
  
Ranma nodded and turned around, to see Yuri looking up at him fearfully.  
  
"Wha-what's going on? What are you doing?"  
  
She froze as Ranma put a hand on her shoulder and smiled reasurringly at her. "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay. Just leave this to us." She watched him, entranced, as he ran out of the bridge and down to the rear of the ship.  
  
Arak watched the entire scene with his head propped up by his fist. "Feh. Casanova."  
  
Yuri blinked as Ranma came back, hit him over the head, then left again.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Sir, we have some readouts on the new ship that appeared behind the enemy fleet!"  
  
The captain of the light cruiser Morgan Douglas, the biggest ship in the Morcan fleet, quickly turned toward the sensory display.  
  
"Well, speak up! Are they reinforcements?"  
  
The tech sweatdropped. "Uh... I know you really don't want to hear this sir, but it's the Wild Horse. It would appear Saotome's gang is here to rummage through the remains of whoever loses."  
  
*Bam* The officer hit the deck of the bridge before pulling himself up again. "What?! Now?! We have an unidentified alien fleet attacking our planet, and now these vermin show up?! DAMN!!!"  
  
The communications officer, who was trembling slightly for fear of giving more bad news, slowly coughed to get the captain's attention. "Uh, sir, it would appear the final civilian transport is having engine problems. It can't get off the ground, and most of the techs already left in other ships. I'm afraid that there are no more civilian craft available to take them off-planet."  
  
The captain started breathing heavily, and fell down into his chair. "What's the status on the last fighter group? Why aren't they up here yet?"  
  
The officer shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry sir... but with the transport crowding the exit bay, the fighters have to launch one at a time, since they were supposed to be the last ones to leave. It'll be a while until they'll leave the atmosphere."  
  
Everyone on the deck watched with heartfelt sympathy as the one man deemed responsible for the entire evacuation procedure covered his face with his hands, trying in vain not to project the utter hopelessness he felt.  
  
A lone tear slid down the captain's face. There was no way out of this one. So many people were going to die. Some might get through, but there was no way to win. His own family had been on that final transport.  
  
Suddenly, a shocked and confused voice shot through the haze of grief and sorrow among the bridge crew.  
  
"Sir! The Wild Horse is launching fighters! The Ion Storm and Dark Angel are taking attack positions! The Wild Horse is now firing upon the enemy!!"  
  
The captain's eyes widened. "WHAT?!?!"  
  
The entire bridge crew all turned toward the tactical readout screen in front of the captain's chair. The many red dots represented active enemy units, while the bunched up green represented the evacuation forces. The light green and light red units represented fighters. Right now, the Wild Horse was colored red. Even so, the many small white dots (representing missiles) were pouring forth from the pirate ship, and many of the other reds were disappearing.  
  
"Why would the Wild Horse fire upon the aliens?"  
  
Nobody on the bridge could answer the captain's question.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
{The new vessel is an enemy. It has declared itself a threat. It will be destroyed.} The psychic speech poured out into the damp, fleshy halls of the alien ship, informing the inhabitants of the battle's proceedings.  
  
The giant node that made up the ship's psychic transmitter pulsed softly, sending the command out to all the other ships in the fleet.  
  
{Be careful. The new vessel is powerful. It is also behind us. We will destroy it quickly.} The giant sack of neurons, suspended by two strings of bundled nerves, quickly sent the signal to the transmitter. This was to be a quick and total conquest, and this particular ship didn't like having unknown factors brought into the equation. It would simply destroy the new ship with the nearest Tyron vessels, then continue with its obliteration of the pitiful human defense fleet.  
  
Ignorance is bliss.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"This is Ion Storm to Dark Angel. Form up on my wing, then take out the alien fighters. We'll let Arak and the Morcan fighters worry about the larger ships until we can get the pods off their backs." With that Ranma took a flanking position and wasted two alien fighters quickly. It had become apparent that the aliens were ignoring them, though he had a feeling that would change soon. He flew by the human fighter that they had been trailing, moving right on to a large dogfight.  
  
Rayden's black ship zoomed in from the side, staying close and sticking a few lasers here and there into the fray.  
  
*Ranma, I don't think Arak can hold out very long. We haven't had a chance to replace our ordinance, so he's gonna run out of ammo quick.*  
  
Ranma had to think about that. He had chosen missiles instead of lasers not only because they did more damage at a longer range, but also because their energy drain was minimal, and Arak would need all the power he could get to use the Apocalypse Cannon with their ship in such poor shape.  
  
"All right, stick to the plan, except keep to the outer edges of the battle zone. If Arak runs out of missiles, we may need to keep him alive."  
  
  
  
Ranma took out four alien fighters as he flew straight through the cloud of lasers, metal and flesh, while wounding two more and destroying the crystal weapon of the alien ship that had wandered in there.  
  
As he broke through to the other side, Ranma noted a sudden, complete change in the enemy's attitude towards them. Many of the alien fighters that were farther off broke off from fairly easy targets to chase after him and Rayden, which made Ranma wonder how they were coordinated in this battle.  
  
Looking towards the outer ring of alien ships, Ranma also noted that several vessels had started to turn around to attack the Wild Horse, apparently all at the same time. Odd.  
  
Ranma started picking off whatever aliens came within his field of vision. It was obvious that him and Rayden were already having a profound affect on the current battle, as many of the human fighters were now free to continue attacking the larger vessels without molestation from the aliens.  
  
He idly noted that he had picked up a few pods on his tail as he buzzed by one of the transports that had strayed just out of range of the alien's main weapons. It was soon apparent that the little pests couldn't be outmanuevered, though it was just as apparent that they were so slow that he could safely ignore them.  
  
He hit his boosters and shot away from his pursuers, then turned around and picked them off one at a time. Just because he could've ignored them didn't mean he had to.  
  
He was just turning around to make another run across the thick of the battle when his comlink buzzed. The signal didn't come from Rayden.  
  
  
  
*Ion Storm, this is Admiral Yaram of the Morcan flagship The Morgan Douglas. Please respond.*  
  
Ranma smiled and edged away from the fighting for the moment, idly checking to make sure Rayden was okay. "This is Ranma Saotome, pilot of the Ion Storm and captain of the Wild Horse. What can I do ya for Admiral?"  
  
*First, you can tell us what a pirate is doing interfering in a battle of this magnitude.*  
  
Ranma snorted. "Don't sound so ungrateful. If you must know, I happen to be returning a citizen of your fine planet, and decided to help when I saw your situation. Attacking what is obviously an evacuation fleet is cowardly and unneccesary. Though if you want, I'll leave."  
  
There was silence at the other end of the comm system, then the admiral's voice returned. *Very well, I apologize for my mistrust, though I'm certain you can understand my position. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Which reminds me, do you have a plan or anything?*  
  
Ranma smiled. "Well, here's the thing. Can you create a line directly between the Wild Horse and the alien flagship on your readouts? Now, if that line keeps going, it creates an area that reaches into the midst of your cluster of ships. You might want to clear that area."  
  
To his satisfaction, he saw many of the Morcan capital ships and fighters move out of the way of the imaginary line.  
  
"Excellent. Please stand by." He switched frequencies on his comm system. "Arak, the path's clear. Fire when ready."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Arak nodded. "Right. Just ran out of ammo, anyway. Rac, activate the tachyon accelerators. Prepare to fire the you-know-what."  
  
"TACHYON ACCELERATORS AT 70%. TACHYON EMITTERS FUNCTIONAL. PLASMA FLUX COILS ARE HOLDING. PRIMARY CELL CHARGE HAS REACHED CRITICAL MASS. SECONDARY CELL CHARGES ARE AT 0%."  
  
Arak frowned. "Hmmmm... the beam'll be weaker than usual, then. Flood some power into the secondary cells from the capacitors. Fire at 60% power."  
  
From her position off to the side, Yuri idly wondered what all the high- tech jargon meant.  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE. FIRING ON YOUR SIGNAL."  
  
Arak grinned. "Let 'em burn."  
  
He sat back in his chair lazily as a fairly thick orange beam, surrounded by a hazy ribbon of stray charged electrons blasted forward and punctured the length of the strange vessel, blowing out flesh and...... other stuff out the other end. The beam continued on toward the planet, unobstructed by the other nearby ships.  
  
The ribbon of energy that had followed the beam collided with the alien ship and scattered, scarring the outside and blasting apart the nearest crystals.  
  
Yuri gaped, simply amazed by the destructive power this ship held. She couldn't imagine how strong it'd be at full power!  
  
She would have been absolutely terrified too, and rightly so, if this power hadn't been used against the enemies of what she considered her home planet. She smiled with a sort of smug look as she watched the alien ship get speared, feeling that justice had been served.  
  
Arak nodded, satisfied with his work.  
  
"POWER LEVELS DROPPING. PRIMARY GENERATOR FAILING."  
  
Arak's eyes widened. "WHAT?!?!?!"  
  
"I SAID, POWER LEVELS-"  
  
"I know what you said! Now explain how it happened!"  
  
Yuri blinked, then bigsweated. This couldn't be good.  
  
"FUSES ON THE SECONDARY ENERGY CELLS BLEW FROM AN UNEXPECTED ENERGY BACKLASH FROM THE TACHYON ACCELERATOR, DUE TO THE THEIR RECENT USE LEAVING KEERYU WHEN THE DAMPERS WERE OFFLINE. THE ACCELERATOR UNDERWENT SOME MINOR PARTICLE DAMAGE. THE SECONDARY CELLS ARE NOW OFFLINE. THE MAIN GENERATOR AUTOMATICALLY TRIED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE DRAIN OF THE APOCOLYPSE CANNON, BUT DUE TO THE POWER CORE ONLY ABLE TO GENERATE AT 85% CAPACITY, PLUS THAT LUGNUT YOU LEFT LYING AROUND IN THE COOLANT SYSTEM, IT WAS UNABLE TO DO SO."  
  
Arak gulped. "Status report?"  
  
"ALL SHIELDS AND WEAPONS ARE OFFLINE. CLOAKING DEVICES ARE OFFLINE. ENGINES OFFLINE. WE ARE RUNNING ON REDUCED SECONDARY POWER. AND IT LOOKS LIKE OUR ALIEN FRIENDS HAVE TAKEN OFFENSE AT US SERIOUSLY DAMAGING THE 'MOTHER SHIP'."  
  
Yuri stared at him. "That's............ bad, right?"  
  
The scientist looked out the window of the bridge, to see that now all the alien vessels were heading towards him. There weren't more than 30 left, including the really big one, but that was still a lot, and from what he had seen just one of those could quickly and easily kill the Wild Horse.  
  
Arak's mouth gaped, and his jaw started opening and closing independent of thought or speech, until he suddenly broke down crying.  
  
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! We're all gonna die!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"  
  
Suddenly, he was brought to his senses by a large metal sphere banging him on the head repeatedly.  
  
*Whang* *Whang* *Whang* "SNAP OUT OF IT MAN!"  
  
Yuri pulled him up in his chair, then shook him strongly. "Pull yourself together! You can't give up now!"  
  
Arak grunted and grabbed his aching head in pain for a moment before he refocused his attention on the advancing ships. "Well, at least the evac transports are making it into hyperspace. Now Ranma's gotta go save us again." Arak sighed and hit the communications transmitter.  
  
"Ion Storm, this is the Wild Horse, we're dead in space, and the weird ugly things are closing in. Do you copy?"  
  
*Dammit Arak! What'd you do this time?!!* The Dark Angel's reply blasted through the speakers, blowing back his hair a bit and knocking away Rac's sphere.  
  
After a moment, Ranma replied. *All right. Rayden, take a run on the opposite side of the big ship. Somehow its gained speed and it'll be within projected firing range in two minutes. We have until then to disable all the crystals that could attack him.*  
  
*Gotcha. If you survive, we're gonna talk about this, Tetsumi.* Both transmissions were cut off as two special lights on the tactical display suddenly took up strafing positions on the alien mother ship.  
  
Arak gasped and fell back into his chair, sweat running down his forehead.  
  
Yuri blinked. "Are you going to be okay?"  
  
Arak turned toward her, then sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. But these recent string of events have been rather hard on everyone here, and I guess I've just been taking it the worst."  
  
Yuri looked down sympathetically at the man before carefully holding his shoulder and pushing him so he could look her in the face.  
  
"Hey," she started softly, "just you wait, Ranma will see us through this one. Don't worry. Everything's going to be just fine." She smiled at him, and he managed a weak smile back. In a moment of introspection, Yuri realized that pirates or not, these people were just that, people. They weren't sadistic or cruel, just........... well, she didn't know enough to come to a conclusion herself, but they weren't sadistic or cruel.  
  
"ALIEN FIGHTERS INCOMING."  
  
Yuri's expression was replaced by one of horror.  
  
Arak shook his head. "Great. Just ****ing great."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Ranma checked the time on his status board as he unconsciously avoided another tagging projectile. He blasted another crystal node with a few rounds of lasers, then looked on with satisfaction as it glew more brightly than it did when discharging a blast, and exploded outward, sending shards of crystal and arcs of electric plasma raining out into space.  
  
Ranma then noticed that several fighters were attacking the Wild Horse, and that one of the smaller vessels was closing in on his ship faster than the big ship was.  
  
He groaned as he passed the next bulge and noticed the veritable forest of crystal weapon nodes among the largest bare portion of the ship.  
  
'Enough of this!' He thought, and came up away from the beams, then turned toward the ship's side with a slight clockwise spin.  
  
"Chestnuts roasting on a neutron disruption field! HYAH!!!"  
  
A wave of proton torpedoes poured out of the Ion Storm, and impacted the fleshy skin of the alien vessel violently, causing the crystals to rupture instantly and the rest of it twist into hideous scars and gashes.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened as a something happened in his mind. He could hear a scream of agony... yet it was not his own and his transmitter was off. The yelling lessoned, and was followed by... anger. Unspeakable hatred.  
  
Ranma shook his head to clear it, and the thoughts seemingly went away. Refocusing on his current situation, and promising to check into the disturbing experience later, Ranma noted with no small sense of pride that his side of the enemy ship had been totalled, with torn, blistering craters wherever the torpedoes hadn't burnt straight through to the superstructure.  
  
Then he realized that those holes were shrinking. And fast. The huge hunk of...... whatever was regenerating!  
  
That was when his mind was brought to a more immediate problem. Every alien ship in the enemy fleet was making a beeline for his fighter.  
  
Ranma gaped and flipped the switch for the engine restart. As usual, his ship was helpless after unleashing such a lethal attack. As expected, nothing. It didn't restart. He kept trying, however.  
  
Looking at how the behavior of the enemy ships were, Ranma was totally baffled. They still had a good chance to kill the Horse, but instead they had all focused on him. It was obvious that it wasn't the plan of whoever was piloting those ships, because even mynocks had more sense than that.  
  
No, the command had obviously come from whoever was commanding the big ship, though he had never met a captain stupid enough to give up the destruction of any capital ship in favor of a fighter, no matter how much damage it may have caused on its own.  
  
Ranma sighed. "Great. It's the most short-sighted, feather-brained strategy ever created, and yet I still get it in the pants." Ranma hit the switch again, and the engines fluttered to life, if only for a moment before they darkened again.  
  
Ranma watched out of the corner of the window as an alien fighter pod got close enough to fire its weapon. The sphere of white, quickly dissapating energy sailed towards him. It wouldn't destroy him, but who knows how many volleys trailed after it to finish the job?  
  
Ranma stopped his attempts to restart his engines momentarily to watch a streak of red fly by and impact the nearest pod, blowing it apart in an incredibly gory fashion.  
  
Ranma held himself steady as the energy ball hit and shook him violently, peeling off outer layers of armor and stripping the dark blue to a hot white on the site of impact.  
  
Strangely enough, that seemed to jump-start the engines, and he quickly jetted out of the way of a steady stream of energy orbs.  
  
Looking behind him, Ranma could see clearly that his savior had been the pilot of an A-Wing. The rest of the man's wing flew past behind him, and dove straight into the mess of alien fighters.  
  
  
  
Looking around, Ranma could see that the transports were even now retreating to the safety of hyperspace. The warships, however, were starting to take the offensive, blasting apart the enemy now that they had an advantage.  
  
Over his shoulder, he could see the Dark Angel dropping plasma grenades indiscriminantly along the alien mother ship.  
  
His comm system crackled. *I don't know why I just saved your ass, so you'd better have a good explanation for why you're here.*  
  
Ranma shook his head. "You saved my ass because I saved yours. Don't think that anyone owes anyone else any favors here."  
  
He switched over his comm as he watched the aliens accelerate away from the planet and the battle. "It looks like they're retreating. What's the status?"  
  
Arak's voice sounded back to him. *I have the engines online. That's about it. Rac keeps telling me not to touch the rest of it or else I'll break something.*  
  
Ranma nodded. "Listen to the computer, would ya? In any case, stand by for a sec." He flipped his comm signal again.  
  
"This is Ranma Saotome calling the Morgan Douglas. We currently have a citizen of yours aboard our ship. Can we drop her off on one of your ships?" With no small amount of satisfaction, Ranma watched the big alien vessel getting pelted with laser shots as it retreated. The huge bulbous mass opened up a blue portal in front of it, then slowly lumbered through.  
  
*This is the Morgan Douglas. Though you must understand that we're not quite on friendly terms yet, we thank you sincerely for your assistance in fighting off the alien fleet. As for your prisoner-*  
  
"Stowaway." Ranma interrupted harshly.  
  
*...... Stowaway, there is a transport that has just repaired its engines that's still on the planet's surface. It will wait for you before leaving to the rendevous point.*  
  
Ranma nodded. "Good. Ion Storm out."  
  
He switched his comm signal over again, then sweatdropped at the messages that filtered through to his ship.  
  
*Oh yeah, you wanna piece 'a this, A-boy?*  
  
*That blackened hunk of scrap couldn't possibly compare to a New Republic- class ship! Go crawl back to your hole, criminal scum!*  
  
*It's not 'blackened', it's painted black, you dolt! Is there anyone with brains on this frequency?*  
  
Ranma sighed, then readjusted his frequency to include the Wild Horse in the signal.  
  
"Dark Angel, form up with me. We're landing on the planet's surface. Arak, land the Wild Horse at these coordinates and meet me at the Charita spaceport. Also, turn off your comlinks. I'm not gonna give you an excuse to paint another wing of A-Wings on your fuselage, Ray."  
  
With that he turned off his own comm system to cut off the scathing reply from the Morcan pilots.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Ranma coughed as he jumped out of his fighter, then started breathing quickly, trying to get his lungs used to the thin oxygen.  
  
Behind him, Rayden took a few deep breaths himself before starting off toward the dome. He was more adaptable than Ranma toward such things, but not by much.  
  
"Nice place they got here. Pretty, at least." It wasn't as densley wooded as Keeryu, but there were other things of consideration.  
  
"Hey Ranma, look at this!" Rayden regretted shouting, as it released all the meager air in his lungs and he was forced to sharply inhale.  
  
Ranma looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Well well. So here lies the crater at the end of the tachyon pulse."  
  
The crater was nearly 15 meters long, which was impressive considering that the blast had been from so far away and was at 60% power. Ranma also noted that mounds of deep-fried alien flesh caked the rim of the impression, as well as puddle of shattered crystal on one part of the lip. That had to hurt.  
  
"I guess it's fairly obvious now, but those ships were biological, huh?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Yup. Here comes Xero."  
  
Ranma smiled as the girl ran up to them followed by one of Rac's drone spheres, then nearly collapsed on the ground.  
  
"*Pant* I never *Pant* liked *Pant* this planet. *Pant* Too little *Pant* air."  
  
Ranma smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "It's all right. They're not sticking around here any longer. Let's get to that transport."  
  
  
  
Rayden continued observing the crater, with Rac's drone by his side, recording the surroundings. Then he picked up one of the shards of crystal, and turned it over in his hands, letting the light reflect off it and play with its colors.  
  
Then it glowed.  
  
Most people would have dropped the crystal in fright and run away, but Rayden was never particularly sensitive to signs of danger.  
  
It stopped glowing, then briefly lit up again, going on and off like a strobe light.  
  
"Would'ja look at that?" Rayden said in wonder, holding it up.  
  
"SCANNERS INDICATE THAT THE CRYSTAL IS REACTING WITH SOMETHING IN THE VICINITY."  
  
Rayden blinked, then looked around, trying to find the source of the reaction. The only thing of even remote interest around was a cave surrounded by eroded rock that looked really out of place. Next to it was a sign that said 'Mysterious Ancient Ruins'.  
  
Rayden glanced at the small hovering orb, then shrugged.  
  
They went inside.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Ranma looked up at the rounded upper hull of the last transport left on the planet, then looked down at Yuri.  
  
"Well, so long kid. It's been real."  
  
Yuri looked up at him. "I'm only maybe a year younger than you, you know," she stated flatly.  
  
Ranma smiled and patted her on the head fondly. "Yeah, well, I was never good at farewells. You take care, all right?"  
  
Yuri smiled sadly at him, then stopped to glance at the transport while she thought up something to say herself. Ranma waited patiently, his hands in his pockets.  
  
"The door is closing."  
  
Ranma blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"The door to the transport. It's closing... uh, it's closed now. The transport's taking off."  
  
Ranma looked suddenly over to where the transport had gunned its engines and was lifting off.  
  
His eyes widened and he started waving his hands in the air as he shouted at the transport. "HEY!!! WAIT!!! YOU FORGOT YURI!!! SHE'S STILL HERE!!! STOP!!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!?!"  
  
Needless to say, his yelling didn't have much effect as far as stopping the transport went. It continued to rise above the city, eventually becoming a small dot in the sky as it broke through the atmosphere.  
  
Ranma's comlink crackled to life.  
  
*Ranma, we've got trouble. Alien ships moving at very high speed have appeared near the planet. We haven't encountered vessels of their particular structure before. They've already penetrated the planet's atmosphere and are landing outside the city. I suggest you drop off Xero and get out of there!*  
  
Ranma bigsweated, and his face darkened. "Uh......... the transport already left without her."  
  
*Whatever! Then bring her back here! We need to leave!*  
  
Ranma nodded, then turned to Yuri, who was watching something in the sky. Looking up himself, he saw what looked like one of the small oval-shaped capital ships from before, except this one lacked a crystal to attack with, and seemed to have a bony skeleton surrounding it like an impact shield.  
  
Which was probably what it was, considering the way that it smashed into the ground, flexing and bending, but not breaking.  
  
Yuri shook his shoulder slightly. "Ranma? We'd better get out of here. This looks pretty bad."  
  
Ranma stared for a moment more. "Just a sec, okay?"  
  
She blinked in confusion as Ranma walked over to a nearby support pillar for the dome.  
  
Then he started banging his head against it. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"  
  
He stopped right before his vision fully seperated into two images, and drunkenly stumbled back to where Yuri was sweatdropping at the scene.  
  
He shook his head to clear it, then took out his blaster. "Come on. This is gonna get messy."  
  
  
  
The pair stopped as part of the transport pod was torn open from the inside.  
  
Ranma had seen many, many different species of creatures in his travels, but this one was new. It stood about 7 feet tall, and was colored a semi- transparent light blue. Its chest stood as the largest hunk of mass on its body, and it was large and triangular, with two vertexes making up the shoulders while the third pointed down towards the abdomen. Its head was long and rounded at the end, and connected to it by a 1-foot tube that made up its neck. In the head several little black spots outlined what were obviously its eyes. It had no visible mouth, ears, or nose.  
  
It was bipedal, with two thin reverse-joint legs sprouting from the smaller triangle that was its pelvis. Its arms were the same way, though attached to their back were four thick tentacles, light blue like the rest of its body.  
  
Yuri had to make these observations in less than two seconds, because that's how long it took for Ranma to take aim and blast the creature's neck, causing the head to fall to the ground. Its body wobbled upright for a moment, before collapsing heavily to the ground.  
  
Ranma pulled out cylindrical object, then pushed a button on the side and pushed up a switch near the top. His arm made a sweeping motion as he threw it into the hole in the pod, then turned to grab Yuri. To his surprise, Yuri was already running back to the ship ahead of him, and he started running to catch up.  
  
The plasma grenade detonated, blasting everything inside of the transport to ashes. The transport itself, being made to withstand the extreme heat of sailing through an atmosphere, was mostly unscathed during the attack.  
  
As Yuri passed the now blazing corpse of the alien, she noted how it had some sort of metal apparatus on its slim hands, wich was connected through several tubes to a large metal pack over its chest that seemed to serve as both an energy source and armor.  
  
They watched as several more alien transports hit the ground, most of them stationed around the city, but a few landing in-between them and the ship.  
  
Ranma grimaced, then leaned down and brought up his right hand, pulling back his sleeve slightly. Yuri stopped and saw that it was covered by a high-tech looking gauntlet, with the glove being made of thick leather while the wrist down was metal and covered in switches and buttons. Ranma put in some commands, then pulled his sleeve back over it.  
  
In moments, the Ion Storm could be seen rising in the air above the sparse trees, then turned toward their direction. Yellow energy bolts pummeled the shields from the ground, but they held as the large fighter slowly accelerated and then deccelerated toward its pilot. Reaching an area just two meters from Ranma and Yuri, it slowly settled onto the ground.  
  
Yuri blinked and looked at him. Ranma sighed and jumped into the fighter. "We'll have to share the pilot's seat. Do you mind?"  
  
Yuri stood shock still for a moment before quickly shaking her head no. Ranma leaned up out of the seat and held his arm out expectantly. Blushing profusely, and mentally berating herself for getting so distracted when they should be running for their lives, she accepted his hand and was promptly pulled into his lap. She continued blushing as Ranma told her to lean back against him and he reached around her for the controls.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"It's getting brighter. It's definitely reacting with something in here!" Rayden looked around at the interior of the cave, trying to see if there were any golden chests or jewel-laden caverns around. He had never really explored such a place before, so he didn't really know what to expect.  
  
"TRY LOOKING TO YOUR LEFT."  
  
He did so, and discovered some faint green lines tracing something on the wall. He held up the crystal, and it began to flash brightly, eventually glowing to a climax and then shattering.  
  
Suddenly the wall was swept up in a pool of green energy, and the thin, barely visible lines he saw earlier were now completely visible.  
  
Rayden blinked. Then he frowned. "Figures. We go all this way, and all we find is some weird runes on the wall. I don't recognize the language. Do you Rac?"  
  
The sphere next to him beeped quietly. "PROCESSING...... NEGATIVE. IT IS OF NO LANGUAGE USED IN THE CURRENTLY KNOWN GALAXY."  
  
Rayden rolled his eyes. "Great. What a waste of time." Even as he complained about it, the runes stopped glowing as brightly and settled down to their normal state.  
  
Then he turned around, and saw one of the aliens step into the cavern.  
  
  
  
It was the same one that Ranma and Yuri had seen, but this one was red, and lacking any gear at all, though it did hold a large crystal in its hands.  
  
Apparently the creature was more surprised than he was, because it just stood there, its gelatinous black eyes distorting.  
  
Rayden calmly pulled out his blaster and fired.  
  
Coming to its senses just in time, the alien raised its hand, and the blaster bolt impacted an invisible shield of some sort.  
  
Rayden blinked, and was distracted enough to allow the creature to lower the shield and attack.  
  
The tentacles on its back shot into the ground, and seemingly phased through it, stretching and coming up right under Rayden without disturbing rock or soil.  
  
Thus he was too surprised to fire another blast as one tentacle grabbed onto his leg and the other gripped his weapon. Rayden growled and tried to wrestle his sidearm back into his control, mostly ignoring the other tentacle which tried to throw him off balance.  
  
Rac wasn't impeded, however. A small hatch on one side of the drone opened, and a small gun barrel shot out.  
  
The alien screeched in pain as the small red laser pierced its belly, and stepped back in agony, bumping into a few more blue aliens that had just arrived behind it.  
  
Rayden dropped his gun, then reached into his trench coat for his blaster rifle. Bringing it out, he shot two holes into the red creature, then hit the others before they could retaliate.  
  
The red alien stumbled, and his tentacles suddenly slid back into the ground, before they pulled themselves up to the rest of the body.  
  
It fell down, and its entire being started to crumble to dust and float away. Soon there was no trace of the red alien save the crystal that lay on the ground, softly glowing from its proximity to the ruins.  
  
Rayden blinked, then picked up the crystal while looking at the other alien corpses. "That's odd. The others didn't disintigrate. Why did that one?"  
  
Rac would've shrugged had his drone had shoulders. "UNKNOWN. I SUGGEST WE ANALYZE THAT LATER, HOWEVER. RIGHT NOW, SURVIVAL TAKES PRIORITY."  
  
Rayden nodded, then pocketed both the crystal and his laser pistol before fighting his way back to his ship.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Eyes unseen watched from the alien invasion cruiser as the Wild Horse lifted out of the atmosphere. Two other, smaller ships docked within it before it took off into hyperspace, unmolested by the aliens still in space. The other transport had already left, meeting with the last of the evacuation defense fleet and making the jump.  
  
The invasion cruiser, just as large as the biggest ship from before, but possessing a bony, barrel-like structure, watched impassively as the humans left.  
  
It had not expected the first attack to fail. Its brother had proved incompetent. That wasn't to be totally unexpected, as it had never been in an actual battle before, and commanding a large fleet against such a pathetic defense force had given its brother ship arrogance. In any case, the planet was theirs, though if the humans made off with the ruins in their transports (unlikely, but they could take no chances), all was lost.  
  
It was very aggravated when the psion it had sent down to read the runes was destroyed. The psychic link that the vessel held with all the invasion troops had been cut. Now it had to send down another psion to the ruins.  
  
But there was time. Time had always been their ally, gifting them with vessels such as he and his brothers, warriors such as the Psion and Unguru, and above all, protection from their enemies.  
  
After eons of waiting, revenge would be theirs.  
  
But first they had to find those blasted runes!  
  
  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
End Chapter 6 


	7. A Night on the Moon

Supernova  
  
Chapter 7  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I can't be held responsible for the sick things my mind creates. Ranma belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The rest of the stuff I use, well............ George! This is all your fault!!  
  
On a slightly different note, this is the only chapter that will feature the Tendos.  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
A Night on the Moon  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
"Ahem! May I have your attention please?" Nobody bothered to point out that Arak already had their attention, and that everybody present was just waiting for him to shut up and start the presentation he claimed he had been working on for the last two hours.  
  
'Everyone' being Ranma, Rayden, Yuri, and of course the Wild Horse's friendly neighborhood supercomputer, Rac.  
  
Right now they were in hyperspace, heading toward a very discreet location. Yuri had asked Ranma repeatedly where their destination was, but he had refused to disclose any information about it.  
  
Arak's eyes swept the room from side to side, and then he turned around and snapped his fingers. One of Rac's drones floated up, and a holographic projection sprouted from its single lens to take form on the podium. There was a three dimensional holographic model of every alien ship they had encountered.  
  
A second drone floated up to the podium, and emitted a second hologram. This one showed a model of both of the types of aliens encountered.  
  
  
  
Arak pointed toward the hologram of the aliens. "This is the antagonist of the Morcan III invasion. I've held these creatures against the profiles of every known species in the galaxy. There's only one species that came even close to matching them, and even that one died out several centuries ago due to a plague that corrupted their unique biology."  
  
Ranma rubbed his chin. "Well, isn't it possible that some of this race survived and evolved some? What is the race, anyway?"  
  
"The race was the Trilarians. There's actually very little known about them, and what's there is mostly just facts of historical importance. They had a physiology that heavily resembles that of these organisms. And while it is possible that a group survived, I'm loathe to accept that so easily. There's no record of the Trilarians using ships like the ones we encountered, and there's no record of their language, so I can't compare those runes Shikodan found with their own alphabet."  
  
"Well, tell us about the ships, then." Rayden spoke up, then leaned back in his chair.  
  
Arak nodded, and then the hologram with the aliens' bodies disappeared to be replaced by a top view of the galaxy, a swirling mass of stars surrounding a single point.  
  
  
  
"As you all know, there are four primary sectors of the galaxy where technology class is concerned."  
  
At that statement, four areas of the screen lit up. There was one big square in the middle, a large rectangle surrounding that square and much of the area around it, and two smaller squares on different edges of the picture.  
  
Arak pointed to the big square. "This cluster of stars make up the core worlds. These planets all have very advanced technology, and utilize it commonly in mass and large-scale production. Ships and technologies are heavily standardized, which leads to weaker overall ships, though they're fairly cheap and well-maintained."  
  
The large rectangle that encompassed the square lit up. "All the other planets, save those in the third and fourth areas, make up the rim worlds. These areas generally have weaker technology than the core, though they have certain weapons and technologies that are either too expensive for heavy production or are outlawed. Rim ships tend to be stronger on an individual basis than core ships due to specialization, but there are very few fleets due to the expense. Parts are often customized, which makes repair and replacement more difficult, and maintanence is usually quick and shabby."  
  
Arak pointed to the larger of the remaining two areas. "This is the Jurian Empire. Their technology is the closest thing to having biological ships like we saw at Morcan. Very little is known about their technology, though it is known that much of it functions as a direct extension of the Jurians' own powers. It is rumored that their ships are made of trees, or some such nonsense as that."  
  
He ignored the many quizzical looks he got as he pointed to the last square. "This is the Oni Empire. Again, very little is known about Oni technology, as their machines function on a totally different basis than ours. Technology from any one of the planets within their borders has a general reputation of being unreliable and in defiance of most physical laws. As such, there has never been a human scientist that has been able to duplicate their work, though there have been very few that have ever wanted to."  
  
Arak turned toward his audience. "The ships we saw today worked on a totally different level than anything we've ever seen before. I've gone over the data, and I'm now completely certain that the ships are in fact giant organisms that have adapted to travel through space, and have even somehow managed to access hyperspace. I've never seen anything like it. What puzzles me the most is how the creatures behave. Why did they go and attack Morcan? Why did they collaborate? What is the relationship between the different vessel classes? What's the relationship between the smaller aliens and the living ships? Do they control the ships? Do the ships have minds of their own?"  
  
"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say you don't know the answer to any of these questions, and don't have enough information to find out." Ranma stated flatly.  
  
Arak nodded professionaly, unashamed. "Naturally. Though I ran the genetic model of the individual aliens from some blood that got on Shikodan's boot against that of the big ship, which I got from the gunk at the crater that Rac collected. I was very surprised to find only a 2% genetic difference in their DNA code."  
  
Ranma blinked, turning that fact over in his mind. Rayden frowned at the socks adorning his feet, having figured out what happened to his boots.  
  
Yuri, who had actually taken some lessons in biology, gasped. "I can't believe it! They're 98% the same?"  
  
Arak nodded. "I was surprised too. And even then, almost all the gene difference is directly related to the physical differences between the two organisms."  
  
Ranma and Rayden shared a glance, totally lost. Both of them had lots of knowledge in technical fields, but as far as their biological knowledge went, between them they could just barely tell you what DNA was.  
  
"Anyway, I'm running their genetic profile through Rac even as we speak, so after a while I'll have their genome decoded and I can tell you a little more about their biology."  
  
Ranma nodded, still confused, but still satisfied. "Uh, yeah... you take care of that."  
  
Arak rolled his eyes, and wandered away from the bridge, muttering about how underappreciated he was.  
  
  
  
Glancing around slightly, Ranma's eyes eventually settled on Yuri. The girl was a problem. On one hand, nobody really minded having her along, and she didn't get in the way of their operations. On the other hand, she was still an innocent, and the last thing he wanted was to drag some girl halfway across the galaxy with him while he commited misdeeds of every sort. She had a life and a family to get back to.  
  
  
  
Yuri had long since noticed his gaze and had been blushing deeper and deeper as he watched her. "What?" She had meant to lash out at him, as sort of a warning not to have any perverted thoughts, but it came out as more of a soft inquisition.  
  
Ranma sighed and looked down. "We need to get you out of here and to someplace safe as soon as possible. Unfortunately, with the ship as banged up as it is, we're going to have to make a stop first. Besides that, we don't know where to take you. Do you know of any other places we can drop you off, any other family, or good friends?"  
  
Yuri lowered her head. "No... I'm sorry......"  
  
Ranma blinked, then patted her head. "No need to be sorry. This mess isn't your fault."  
  
"Actually, it is, since she............" Rayden was quickly cut off by Ranma's warning glare. Yuri's head dipped a little lower.  
  
Ranma returned his gaze to her and gently pushed her head up by her chin.  
  
"Hey, don't you worry. Nothing's gonna happen to you until you're safe back with your father." Ranma got up to leave, when she suddenly spoke up behind him.  
  
"He's not really my father. I was adopted. My real parents died in a fire." Yuri's face was completely neutral, as she tried to figure out what had possessed her to tell him that. "Kind of ironic, really. That's how I almost went........."  
  
She looked up, and was surprised to see a play of emotions cross Ranma's face as he stared down the empty hallway. Pain, the kind of pain one feels when remembering an important loss in their life, and was that...... regret?  
  
Ranma stood still a few moments more, his mind elsewhere.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that." It was said without compassion or empathy, yet still lacked malice or sarcasm. Ranma stepped forward, and soon disappeared into the hallway.  
  
  
  
Rayden looked at her impassively, then sighed and put his feet up on a table.  
  
Yuri glanced at him. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
He shrugged. "Not really. Just gave him some bad memories. Not your fault. Out of all of us, Arak's the only one with who's had good experiences with family."  
  
Yuri blinked. "You too?"  
  
Rayden chuckled slightly. "I haven't had any experiences with family. I was raised in a lab. Grown in a test tube and all that. Ask some other time and maybe I'll tell ya the whole story. We've all got a reason to be here."  
  
Yuri suddenly remembered who she was talking to, and tried to lace as much venom as possible into her reply. "You mean a reason other than quick money?" It didn't come out as threatening and hateful as she'd hoped, but she got her point across.  
  
Rayden raised an eyebrow. "We do what we do because we have to. In this world, it's survival of the fittest. We all learned that the hard way."  
  
She looked at him incredulously. "You think you can justify what you do? Destroying pilots that are trying to defend their cargo? Taking others' possessions while they're at gunpoint? Attacking freighters and taking supplies?"  
  
"Like we did at Morcan?"  
  
Yuri's jaw snapped shut. How did THAT fit into the picture?  
  
Rayden cursed inwardly. He wished Ranma were here. Ranma was the one that could always make it sound like they were doing the right thing, that were more than just criminals.  
  
"Look, it doesn't really matter. All of us have had death sentences on our heads long before we became outlaws."  
  
That got her. "What?"  
  
Rayden nodded. "Every single one of us was used and betrayed. We're just fighting back." He got up, then shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away. "I'll be goin' now. Ranma told Rac to let ya look around the entire ship if you want, though he can still watch what you're doing, so don't try anything."  
  
  
  
Yuri watched his back as he left, then berated herself for her outburst. Pirates or not, these people had just saved a whole lot of people, some of them friends of hers. On top of that, she was still a stowaway, and it would be fully within their rights (them being pirates) to disintigrate her. Instead, they had nearly gotten themselves obliterated just to take her home.  
  
She fell back into her chair and sighed, then noticed one of the little spheres floating overhead, the small red sensor shining at her.  
  
"Hey you, where are we going, anyway?"  
  
The sensor rotated slightly, briefly flashing the light beam into her eyes. "I AM CALLED RAC. AND WE'RE GOING TO THE GORGON MOON."  
  
Yuri blinked. She had never heard of that place. "Right, Rac. Uh, why are we going to the Gorgon Moon?"  
  
"FOR REPAIRS. AND TO SELL SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY WE'VE RECENTLY ACQUIRED."  
  
Yuri sighed. "Another boring hyperspace trip, huh?"  
  
The machine flew by her head and floated above her. "Perhaps. Would you like the tour?"  
  
She blinked again, then smiled slowly. As long as she was stuck here, she might as well try and make the most of it.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Pliers." Rayden stuck his hand out of the large hatch.  
  
"Pliers." Arak handed the aforementioned tool to him with one hand, while his other pressed another button on his datapad (like a tricorder, except without the trademark).  
  
Rayden pulled himself deeper into the hatch, through the sea of cables and pipes.  
  
Arak finished analyzing the damage to the substructure, then nodded. "I see what it is. A turbolaser blast hit a weak point in the armor, and managed to dig deep enough to fry two of the primary power relays, as well as several cables. Which would explain the overload in the secondary batteries."  
  
"Goody." Rayden said bitterly as he fingered the charred, broken cables.  
  
He was working on removing the broken cables when Rac's drone appeared, trailed by a very curious-looking young woman.  
  
  
  
"SO YOU SEE, THE APOCALYPSE CANNON USES A BURST OF TACHYON PARTICLES TO STREAMLINE A STEADY FLOW OF CHARGED ELECTRONS AND STRAY PROTONS, RESULTING IN A VERY DESTRUCTIVE BEAM THAT DISASSEMBLES THE TARGET AT A MOLECULAR LEVEL, LIKE A PROTON TORPEDO, AS WELL AS GENERATING AN ENERGY SURGE THAT CAN DISTRIBUTE DAMAGE AROUND THE ACTUAL IMPACT SITE OF THE BEAM. BECAUSE OF THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY IT TAKES TO HOLD THE BEAM TOGETHER, THE ENERGY SURGE, WHICH IS MORE THAN ANYTHING A SIDE EFFECT OF THE WEAPON, IS CAPABLE OF SHATTERING EVEN PLANETARY BASED SHIELDS."  
  
Arak smiled and turned around as he recognized the description of his finest weapon. "Ah, yes it is. It's my greatest creation, if I do say so myself." He smiled brightly.  
  
The sphere turned toward him.  
  
"Uh, after you Rac." He added hastily.  
  
Yuri blinked. She had been completely awed by the tales of what destructive power this ship had. It was slightly disturbing that it was under the control of a band of criminals, but in the same sense it was rather nice knowing that she was being held aboard a vessel capable of tearing apart a ship ten times its size.  
  
"You created that thing? By yourself?"  
  
Arak nodded. "Uh huh! Yes, I know, I am a genius!" He started to chuckle to himself, before Rayden's hand shot out and slapped him on the shoulder lightly.  
  
"Hey genius! Give me some port caps, wouldja?"  
  
Grumbling once again about how unappreciated he was, he picked up a pile of caps and handed them to his comrade.  
  
Rayden's voice rang out again from the hatch. "And as for you, Mr. high- and-mighty silicon-for-brains, I still haven't forgotten about how you turned on the power the last time I was in here! You knew about it too! Next time, you'd better stop to warn Ranma before telling him to-"  
  
Rayden continued ranting as the sphere turned toward Yuri.  
  
"WANT TO SEE SOMETHING AMUSING?"  
  
Yuri didn't quite know what he had in mind, so she nodded her head.  
  
There was a snapping noise, and the rising whine of several electronic devices activating.  
  
"And another thing! I'm not.......... what the?"  
  
*GA-ZACK!!!*  
  
"YAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"  
  
There was a sudden flash of light from the hatch, and then several streams of smoke wafted out.  
  
Arak winced. "It's not nice to electrocute the hand that maintains you, you know." He was quite certain that the computer would ignore the comment, but he felt it appropriate to reprimand him anyway.  
  
Rac floated away from Yuri, who was still staring at the hatch, torn between asking if he was hurt or laughing. "SOMETIME'S IT'S NECESSARY TO TEACH THE BIO-UNITS WHO'S BOSS. OVER IN THIS DIRECTION IS THE HANGAR. I WILL IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS ON OUR FIGHTERS AS I POINT THEM OUT."  
  
Yuri followed, stopping only to throw a quick sympathetic glance toward the hatch.  
  
  
  
Arak watched them go, then poked his head into the access hatch. "Hey Shikodan, you okay?"  
  
More smoke erupted into his face as the mechanic in question coughed.  
  
"Hurt... bad... hate... computers... medic..............."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Ranma sighed as he stared at the picture before him. It was a picture of himself, in his uniform after having just graduated from the pilot's academy. He stood in front of his parents, his mother holding him around the neck fondly, immensely proud of her son, and his father posing off to the side, looking arrogant and self-important as usual.  
  
'Graduated top of my class, two years early. Just like Pops wanted. Stupid moron.' He sighed again and smiled sadly, tracing the older man's figure with his finger.  
  
'You always wanted me to be the best. But none of us knew the price. I'm still paying for it, two years later.'  
  
  
  
*Shoom* The sound of his door opening. Ranma quickly laid the picture down and slid it under a large book, then turned to see Yuri peeking into the room from the hallway.  
  
"Ranma?" She asked questioningly.  
  
Ranma nodded, then walked away from his dresser and sat down on his bed. "You wanted something?"  
  
Yuri looked around a bit before entering. Truth be told, she expected a more... elaborate room for Ranma. She'd known third-rate diplomats who had more luxurious abodes than this!  
  
"Uh, well I was just wondering... Rac said we were going somewhere called the Gorgon Moon..."  
  
Ranma smirked slightly. "So he told you about that, huh?"  
  
Yuri nodded. "And, well, I was just wondering...... why there? I mean, there are lots of closer spaceports along the hyperspace routes, I checked!"  
  
Ranma smiled and patted the side of his bed amiably. She walked over and sat down, curious as to his answer.  
  
"Simple. What do a majority of planetary spaceports have in common?"  
  
Yuri stared at him for a moment, before hesitantly replying, "They're...... run by a government?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Correct. And what are most governments' general dispositions toward galaxy-wide wanted pirates?"  
  
Yuri sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I know that. But still, there are some that should take us in..."  
  
Ranma got up. "True, but I have a friend on Gorgon's Moon."  
  
She blinked. "You do? What is this place anyway? I've never heard of it."  
  
Ranma leaned back against a wall. "The Gorgon Moon is named after its founder and the family that has owned it ever since. It acts a sort of 'Underworld City'. The moon holds a huge complex that contains everything from a spaceport to a large marketplace for stolen goods. Basically it's a city for criminals. I happen to be on good terms with the current owner of the moon, who, like all his ancestors, is just called Gorgon." Ranma opened a cabinet on the wall, then pulled out a bottle.  
  
Yuri sweatdropped. "A city of criminals? That hardly makes sense! How do you keep crime down? Everything would get stolen or destroyed!"  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Not everything. Most of these people have nowhere else to go, so they treat the place with some respect. As for the crime, they don't need to keep it down. For the most part, people do what they want, and if they annoy the wrong person, then they get killed. It's as simple as that. Any small-timers that spend too much time in there will either get robbed, mugged, or killed and looted. The smart and strong ones, the ones that form groups, pretty much hold complete power over their own areas and make their homes there. They take and do what they want, but they have to be careful about it so they don't bother Gorgon or another gang. Gang wars usually annoy Gorgon, and he has both groups wiped out. Gorgon himself keeps his own personal army in waiting, to hunt down anybody stupid enough to make him their enemy, or to wreak a little havoc in his name to remind the settlers who's boss. Rum?"  
  
Yuri accepted a small glass, and took a sip. "But still, why there? We could get killed!"  
  
Ranma took a sip straight from the bottle. "We could get killed anywhere." He reminded her dryly. "But on Gorgon's Moon, we're not just highly wanted criminals, we're more like lords. On top of that, we're also friends of the most powerful authority there. That adds up to a lot."  
  
Yuri nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense."  
  
Ranma started to leave, then turned back to her, looking slightly worried. "Uh, but despite all that, try and keep close to Shikodan, okay? This place can be a little rough."  
  
He left for the bridge, in order to make preparations for their exit from hyperspace.  
  
  
  
Yuri stayed behind, and thought over what he said. It made sense, actually. She kept forgetting that these weren't soldiers or diplomats she was dealing with, but criminals.  
  
'Yes... I do keep forgetting that.'  
  
She looked over to his desk, and saw something sticking out from under a book. walking over to it, she lifted up the book (which was dubiously titled: 'Space Combat Maneuvers Stolen From Planet Joketsuzoku') and found a plain glass picture frame with a photo in it. Which was rather odd, as just about everybody in the galaxy used holographic pictures. She had seen an old photo once, but couldn't imagine why anyone would have one instead of a simple holocard.  
  
She stared at the picture for a few more moments before setting it back under the book and walking out of the room.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"We've almost arrived. Check that out!" Rayden peered out of the window of the bridge.  
  
It looked more like a huge asteroid than an actual moon, it's shape oblong and deformed. Ranma looked down into the many craters and holes dotting the rock's surface, knowing them to hide weapons in their shadows. If they were spotted when they were already too close to the moon, those weapons would reduce them to little more than free-floating slag.  
  
The Wild Horse slowed down, and then sent out a transmitter pulse.  
  
A sound immediately came over the speakers.  
  
*Who is this and what is your business here?*  
  
Ranma smiled reassuringly at Yuri, who was still glancing at the moon nervously.  
  
"This is the Wild Horse, captain Ranma Saotome speaking. We're here for rest and repairs, that's all."  
  
There was silence on the other end. Then the voice came back.  
  
*Very well. You may land in sector 8. Gorgon sends his greetings, though he's disappointed you havn't kept in touch. He says Miyuki misses you.*  
  
Ranma winced slightly. "Yeah, uh... well, I've been busy."  
  
*He understands, of course, and invites you to his humble abode after you have seen to the repairing of your ship. That is all.*  
  
  
  
The line of communication cut off, and they began their descent to a ridge that overlooked a large durasteel pad. The Wild Horse slowly and carefully positioned itself under the ridge.  
  
The pad jerked slightly, and soon the large craft was taken under the surface of rock and dust. It kept dropping, until the outer layer of the asteroid's surface disappeared above them, to reveal a bustling spaceport, full of droids and mechanics.  
  
The Wild horse was gently put onto a massive disk, which rotated and moved along the floor, getting the light frigate out of the way of incoming ships.  
  
Ranma and company stepped out, and he stretched a bit at the edge of the platform.  
  
Yuri looked around in wonder. She was slightly awed by the vast expanse and variety of... well, everything. Weapons of every shape and type littered the floor as they were reloaded, replaced, and repaired. Droids of strange design skittered here and there, lifting heavy objects and welding parts. The ships were massive and unique, each one vaguely resembling a class of craft she had seen before, but modified beyond recognition.  
  
But the most varied, and remarkable thing was the number of species. Looking around, she realized that here, humans were just barely a majority. Until now she had only dealt with 'highly civilized races', mostly Mon Calamari, Twi'leks, and a few Bothans here and there. And of course humans, which made up a huge chunk of almost every diplomatic assembly.  
  
One creature in particular caught her eye, a deep blue-skinned quadraped with a fat belly (or chest, she couldn't be sure) that seemed to be yelling at a droid in an especially gutteral language. Eventually the droid gave two beeps as an answer, and this seemed to frustrate the creature enough to throw a mighty swing at the robot, sending it bouncing across the floor.  
  
There was a high-pitched whine behind the alien, but he didn't have enough time to look to see what it was before a bright red laser bolt seared a hole in the back of his head. It dropped to the floor.  
  
Yuri watched the whole scene with a sort of detached mix of fascination and horror. She turned around as she felt Ranma's hand squeeze her shoulder slightly. "You okay?"  
  
She felt her cheeks heat up a bit at his concern for her, but she smiled and nodded. He smiled back, and she felt her face redden even more.  
  
"Just stick next to Rayden and Arak, and you'll be fine."  
  
Yuri looked up at him and blinked. "You won't be with us?"  
  
Ranma shrugged, then started to walk away towards one of the bigger aliens that seemed to be directing the droid traffic around the hangar. "Maybe. I have to meet with Gorgon first. From there, who knows?" He reached the alien and got its attention, whereupon he started pointing to his ship and giving instructions.  
  
  
  
She kept watching him, until Rayden tapped her on the shoulder before gently pushing her along with him.  
  
She followed him and Arak, and eventually the trio reached a large opening, which they passed through.  
  
  
  
Yuri was struck speechless at the sight of what lay before her. It was like some twisted subterranian version of an industrial metropolis. They were currently standing on a wide bridge that seemed to expand over a vast trench which vented smoke of some sort. At the other end of the bridge were many buildings atop a wide platform after the opposite side of the trench. Many of these buildings seemed to rise up straight into the ceiling.  
  
She followed her companions across the bridge, then hesitated before peeking a look over the edge, being careful to avoid breathing in the vapors that wafted up.  
  
It wasn't as deep as she thought, and she blinked suddenly as she noticed many humanoid figures down below, wrapped in rags as they simply sat or walked around aimlessly. Some were carrying things, and most of these figures were rushing down the length of the trench with their loads, weaving a path between the many bodies haphazardly strewn about on the ground.  
  
"What is......." Yuri began, but wasn't entirely sure how to finish the question.  
  
Rayden came up to her and leaned over the side of the bridge. "Those are the slums. The people down there are pretty much slaves, working the facilities in the city and conducting manual labor here and there. In return, they get food and water, safety from the other inhabitants, plus they get away with any crimes they've commited against any legal government other than this one, just by being here. Just ignore them for the most part."  
  
Yuri gave a last glance down into the trench, before hesitantly following the others into the depths of the city.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Gorgon sighed as the man before him continued to rant on about some injustice that had been done to his family. He honestly didn't care what the man's problem is, but he wished that the fool would get to the point so that he'd know who to kill and get the lunatic out of his office.  
  
The man with long dark hair sobbed uncontrollably as he built up to his tragic tale.  
  
Gorgon sighed again. "Now Tendo, I do owe you a favor, but you must realize I'm a busy man. If you would be so kind as to... uh, get to the point?"  
  
Soun took a deep breath, then leaned over the desk, a look of utter seriousness on his face, though it was still brimming with tears. "One day, my daughter went to see a man. This man, he stayed up with her very late, giving her wine. Eventually she fell asleep. Then this man, he... he...... well, just look at her, Mr. Gorgon!"  
  
Gorgon raised an eyebrow, then hit a button on the side of his desk. A viewscreen appeared in the air in front of him, showing the lobby area of his palace, which stood in the center of the city.  
  
He spotted Soun's daughter, and his other eyebrow shot up.  
  
  
  
In the lobby area, Akane gave another dark glare as a man got a good look at her face and started chuckling. Written across her forehead was the word 'tomboy'.  
  
  
  
Gorgon hit the button again, and the viewscreen folded up into nothing and disappeared. He took a drag from his cigar. "Couldn't you just clean it off?"  
  
Soun's tears slowed slightly so that he could talk. "I tried, oh, how I tried... he used permanent ink!"  
  
Gorgon and his bodyguards all sweatdropped.  
  
"Uh... what would you have me do, Tendo?"  
  
Soun dried his tears quickly, then leaned over the desk again.  
  
"I want JUSTICE, Mr. Gorgon! Justice for my little Akane!"  
  
Gorgon gave a last heavy sigh before putting out his cigar and facing Soun.  
  
"Very well Tendo, I will do this thing for you. But the next time you need somebody's legs broken for a cheap prank, my secretary has a list of very reliable thugs."  
  
Soun bowed, then as was customary, took the man's hand and kissed the ring on his finger.  
  
"I thank you, Mr. Gorgon." Soun turned and left, totally robbed of whatever dignity he may have possessed upon entering.  
  
  
  
Gorgon lit up another cigar, and a voluptious woman in a silk kimono stepped out of the shadows to massage his shoulders.  
  
Gorgon was a middle-aged human male with light, sandy hair and a fairly muscular build. His simple clothing, a comfortable silk robe belied the incredible power and importance that he held.  
  
  
  
He turned to Mayla, his favorite concubine, and offered her a weary smile. "So who's next? Some black market merchant who was beaten and robbed? One of the slum's inhabitants begging for release?"  
  
She smiled warmly back, and then opened up the datapad in her hand and started reading.  
  
"Next is a-"  
  
She was cut off very quickly by a shout of surprise followed by a crash and more shouts.  
  
"Get out of my way you morons!"  
  
There was the sound of further struggling, and the guards surrounding Gorgon took flanking positions around the entrance with their guns drawn. After a few more moments, there was a loud *thud*, and the doors burst outward and off their hinges to rain down upon the poised guards. A figure stood in the doorway, the light pouring in from the hallway illuminating his outline and creating quite the impressive light effect.  
  
Gorgon got up in alarm, then realized who it was and his expression slowly broke into a smile. He shook his head and slowly got up and walked around his desk. Behind him, Mayla lowered the blaster she had slipped from the folds of her kimono as she realized that her master was in no danger.  
  
Ranma looked around at the office and snorted indignantly. "What kind of dump is this where the galaxy's most dangerous criminal has to make an appointment to see an old friend?!" He watched Gorgon approaching and smirked.  
  
Gorgon shook his head back and forth solemnly and put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I'm sorry about all the red tape. Someone around here has to keep an organized group of thugs handy."  
  
Behind Ranma, Gorgon's secretary (who, coincidentally, was another of his consorts) was throwing confused looks between her master and the guy that had just beaten up most of the hall guards and knocked the reinforced doors off their hinges in a single kick.  
  
Gorgon gave her a good-natured smile and waved her away. "It's all right girl. Go and stop the rest of the guards from bothering me, would you? Me and Saotome have important business to discuss."  
  
She nodded quickly, then ran from the room.  
  
"I'm charging you for those doors you know," Gorgon commented dryly.  
  
"Bite me," Ranma replied, grinning.  
  
Gorgon sighed heavily, and started muttering under his breath about insolence of inferiors and the younger generations in general.  
  
Sitting behind his desk, he considered the figure before him, who stood in a relaxed pose and seemed totally ignorant of the many guards getting up and training their weapons on him.  
  
"So Ranma, what brings you to this God-forsaken rock of bandits?" Many of the guards were gaping at the sight. Not only had this ruffian come unannounced and damaged his abode, but both parties were being incredibly casual about the meeting.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Repairs, mostly. Ship's banged up but good. I also have some goods you might be interested in." Gorgon was the unofficial 'head merchant' of the huge black market that was represented on his moon. If you couldn't find it through him, it either didn't exist, it was one of a kind (though that didn't necessarily mean he didn't have it), or it required Jurian power to use.  
  
Gorgon raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't be trying to pawn some leftover technology stolen from the galaxy's most prestigious research labs on Mitus on a ridiculously and ultimately uselessly guarded convoy off on me, would you?"  
  
Ranma blinked. "Well, uh, yeah. Pretty much."  
  
Gorgon smiled. "Of course. How about we talk somewhere more private? It's getting a tad crowded in here."  
  
He motioned for Mayla to follow them, and walked out of the office, leaving his guards behind.  
  
"We have a lot of catching up to do, young friend. Indeed."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Wow. This place is so... so......" Yuri simply couldn't find the words to describe it.  
  
"Luxurious? Fancy? Different?" Arak grinned. Gorgon's palace sure made an impression, especially as the rest of the city was shrouded in filth and debris.  
  
"Uh...... big." she finished, blushing a bit.  
  
Rayden shrugged and idly nodded. It was big, even if it didn't rise up into the ceiling like many of the other buildings that surrounded them.  
  
They stepped inside, and Yuri looked around in wonder at the myriad of different people that milled around the luxurious lobby. Behind several desks, clerks tended to the visitors, while guards stood nearby to make sure the clients didn't get to excited when told to buzz off. She idly noticed that these clerks and guards were all humans.  
  
Arak was apparently following Rayden, so she did the same. Eventually they came to a fancy bar of some kind, full of rough looking men of various species and several attractive human barmaids.  
  
  
  
"This is the best tavern on Gorgon's Moon! Only the wealthiest low-life scum can afford to spend their time here!" Rayden said cheerfully. He walked up and slapped some bills on the bar counter, and before he knew it there was a drink in front of him.  
  
Yuri looked around a bit more, making sure that she stayed within earshot of the others, when she felt someone grab her shoulder roughly.  
  
She turned around and saw a tall Twi'lek man leering at her. Twi'lek were close to humans in biology, though their skulls tended to be a tad irregular in shape, they had no hair, and they possessed two long tendrils of flesh that hung down from the back of their heads, called brain tails. All these features, Yuri had long ago decided, detracted from what she found attractive about humanoids in general.  
  
"Uh... c-can I help you?" She asked nervously.  
  
His grin got deeper, and she watched as his eyes started looking her over. "Actually, I think you can." His voice was deep and throaty and she quickly decided that the sooner she was away from him, the better.  
  
"You see, I was simply hoping you would help me indulge myself before I have to leave again. These stops are so seldom, it's been a long time I've had a woman pleasure me."  
  
Yuri blinked, then swatted his hand away and turned her back on him. "Forget it. I'm not that kind of girl."  
  
She heard a snarl, and then her shoulder was grabbed again and she was spun around.  
  
"I didn't ask you what kind of girl you were! You're coming with me! If you're good enough, I might pay you..."  
  
She was horrified now, but tried not to show it. "Wh-why don't you go bother one of those waitresses if you're so desperate?!"  
  
He grunted slightly, then grabbed her arm and started to drag her away. "Unfortunately, they're off-limits."  
  
"Just like she is."  
  
Before the Twi'lek could contemplate the voice, someone grabbed his wrist and squeezed tightly, causing him to instinctively loosen his grip. Yuri, who had been struggling mightily up until then, managed to squirm out of reach.  
  
He growled and turned around, to see a human male even taller than he was in a trench coat giving him a cold look. He smirked slightly, and Rayden didn't notice his hand slowly slide behind his back.  
  
"What? Is this your woman?" Yuri twitched and glared at him from her position behind Rayden.  
  
"Naw, she's the captain's girl, actually." He said off-handedly.  
  
"Hey! I am not!" It was bad enough this jerk was treating her like some object to be used and given away, now her protectors/kidnappers were doing it too!  
  
"Sure you are, you just don't know it yet!" He gave her a good-natured grin. Then he turned an icy look toward the Twi'lek.  
  
"Anyway, lay off, okay? If you want directions to the red light district I'd be happy to point it out to you."  
  
The Twi'lek's grin deepened, and for a moment Rayden wondered what the hell he was thinking. He found out rather quickly as the man pulled a blaster from behind his back, pressed it to his chest, and without banter or fanfare, fired.  
  
  
  
Yuri watched in terror as Rayden was shot point-blank in the chest. As it was, she felt guilty for dodging his body as it fell backward so she wouldn't get hurt, but then leaned next to the man in the hope that he somehow survived. She looked around for some help, but to her growing despair, none of the other bar patrons looked particularly concerned for the girl or the man that had just been shot. Some of them were even grinning at the sight.  
  
The Twi'lek man would have none of it, and grabbed her arm again as he started to drag her off.  
  
"Well, now that that's solved, let's get it on, shall we?" He chuckled, then winced slightly as she started kicking him.  
  
"You monster! You killed him!! Let me go you bastard!!" She made it a point to try and grab onto whatever stationary objects she could get ahold of with her other hand, but it only served to slow the alien down.  
  
  
  
The Twi'lek man grunted as he was forced to nearly tear the girl's arm off to make any headway. Many of the bar's patrons were watching the spectacle and laughing at the sight, but he ignored them. He had earned this conquest and now he was going to reap his rewards!  
  
He had gotten halfway across the room when he realized that the girl had stopped struggling.  
  
Then he howled as someone grabbed his arm holding the girl and twisted painfully, causing him to release his hold.  
  
Rather angry at having to defend his catch from someone else, he turned around, only to be faced with the very same man from before, but with a big black mark on his chest that smelled of burning flesh (he was familiar with the smell himself).  
  
He was understandably shocked, and therefore left himself open for Rayden to grab him by the shoulder and lift him up, applying some very painful pressure in the process.  
  
"That hurt, you know." The Twi'lek tried to bring his gun around and shoot him in the face, but Rayden's hand whipped out and caught it, then crushed both the weapon and his hand in one big, bloody mess.  
  
The Twi'lek screamed in agony, and then was silenced as Rayden tossed him by his shoulder into the metal far wall head first. The other guests courteously got out of the way of the biological projectile, then some started clapping as the thug was knocked unconscious by the impact against the reinforced durasteel.  
  
Rayden smirked, then winced slightly as he rubbed the wound created by the blaster. It HAD hurt. He was lucky it was a small low-power model, or else it could have done some actual damage.  
  
Yuri looked up in wonder, understandably curious as to how someone could survive being shot in the chest and still be alive, much less conscious.  
  
Then Rayden noticed that some of the people that weren't clapping or chuckling at the unscheduled entertainment had angry scowls on their faces.  
  
Those same people approached. There were two more Twi'leks, an Abyssin, a Gran, four Rodians, and two humans. Rayden grinned, as they decided that a blaster bolt to the neck would be too good for him and started drawing an assortment of vibroblades from their clothes. Except for the tall and lumbering Abyssin, who's superior strength convinced it that it didn't need vibroblades to crush the sad little human. That was okay. Even the smartest Abyssin had trouble with complicated concepts like strategy and common sense. Though the clawed humanoid did represent the most danger, as it had an incredible healing factor that the other species lacked.  
  
Rayden pounded one fist into and upraised palm. "Well well, looks like the molester brought some friends. Time to get busy."  
  
The Gran snarled at him and charged. He would've glared too, except that his three eyes being suspended from his skull on fleshy stalks pretty much rendered them expressionless.  
  
Rayden had never liked Grans. Damn ugly creatures, they were.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"I think this place is bigger than I remember. Did you add a floor or something?" Ranma looked around at Gorgon's inner sanctum, appraising the place.  
  
The inner sanctum, or 'playroom' as it was commonly known was a gigantic indoor pool area that was located toward the back of Gorgon's palace. It reminded Ranma of some of the interiors on the fancier luxury yachts that he had raided on occasion. In the center was the pool, surrounded on either side by rows of tables which held a variety of food which was constantly replaced throughout the 'daytime' hours. The rest of the floor area was mostly just tile floor, with a few benches and chairs for relaxing. Dotting the walls were several bedrooms seperated from the main area by a thick silk sheet, many of which were pulled back to allow easy access inside.  
  
Like just about every guest that laid eyes on this place, Ranma felt honored to be invited into Gorgon's real home, but couldn't help but feel nervous every time he entered this place. This mostly had to do with the primary residents of the playroom, Gorgon's daughters.  
  
Gorgon, having quickly affirmed his position as heir to the Gorgon Moon before his father died, had amassed a large harem for himself at an early age, which left him with the quite the creche by the time he had turned 25 and decided to slow down a bit. Most called him a dirty old man and a lecher. Those that had heard the legend of Jedi Master Yoda's little brother Happousai tended to refer to him as a playboy.  
  
His sons more often than not tended to the city or left the moon entirely, while his female offspring mostly stayed within the luxurious halls of the palace or mingled with the crowds outside the palace as barmaids or dancing girls. Whatever their fancy really.  
  
Ranma absently gulped and started tugging at the collar of his uniform nervously. Many of the girls watching him (mostly wearing bathing suits or silk robes) apparently found this just adorable and started smiling seductively at him.  
  
Gorgon had to pull Ranma aside to keep him from walking right into the pool. "Perceptive as always, and yet, still so clueless."  
  
Ranma blinked and allowed himself to be dragged toward the largest room at the head of the sanctum. "Huh?"  
  
Gorgon shook his head. "Yes, I did add another floor. It was getting rather crowded in here the last few months."  
  
Ranma nodded and took a kneeling position on a pillow on one end of a small wooden table. Gorgon squatted on the other side and clapped his hands, and soon one of his consorts brought out some drinks and set them on the table.  
  
Gorgon clapped his hands again. "Sonya!"  
  
Ranma averted his eyes as a scantily clad blond woman followed by a short boxy droid on treads walked into the room from the small hallway that led to Gorgon's private quarters. It was considered rather bad manners to stare, especially at someone else's woman. He found his eyes drawn to to two other girls on the side of the room, who were apparently lavishing their attention on a man who he hadn't noticed before. He was tall and had blue skin, but other than that looked completely human. His black hair was well combed and he was wearing a simple gray officer's uniform, but the suit was devoid of rank pins or medals. He looked handsome, in an exotic sort of way, Ranma supposed, but couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here.  
  
The man looked up from where one of the girls were playing with the pockets on his jacket and raised an eyebrow, apparently noticing Ranma for the first time.  
  
  
  
Gorgon noticed the exchange and coughed, gaining their attention.  
  
"Ranma, I'm certain this young man knows who you are, but you probably havn't heard of him. This is Boran Rehli, one of my more recently acquired troubleshooters. I believe he's part of that new criminal organization running around nowadays. Shade, I think it's called."  
  
Ranma's gaze seemed to ice over. "Zat so?"  
  
Boran grinned amiably. "Well, I must say, it is my supreme honor to meet the legendary Ranma Saotome. Last I saw you, I was telling my gunners to stop firing upon your ship and concentrate on blowing you out of space."  
  
Ranma's smile mirrored his, and even his gaze warmed up considerably. "Well, it's a darn shame you weren't on that interdictor. Did they ever manage to salvage its remains?"  
  
He chuckled lightly. "I don't think there was anything left to salvage. Where DID you get a stabilizer powerful enough to launch 69 proton torpedoes in 12 seconds?"  
  
Ranma chuckled lightly himself, then wagged his finger at the Shade operative. "Now that...... is a secret."  
  
Gorgon looked back and forth between the two men. "You two have... fought each other?"  
  
Boran shrugged, then slipped his arm around the girl nuzzling his chest, holding her to him tightly. "It's rather too impersonal to say we fought each other. I was the commanding officer on one of the ships that happened to be around when the order to kill Saotome was given out. That ship is still being repaired too, thanks to the Dark Angel."  
  
Ranma sighed. "Ah yes. Those plasma grenades can be a real nuisance, huh?"  
  
"Quite. That ship was just one out of my own personal fleet, however. My flagship is currently docked in the cruiser port of the moon undergoing some refits."  
  
Gorgon watched as the two stared at each other, neither one letting a single emotion cross their face.  
  
"Well, be that as it may, I was not aware of this vendetta you share with Saotome." Gorgon's gaze was more curious than annoyed or angry.  
  
Boran laughed. "Ha ha ha! It is no vendetta. Simply duty to my superiors. I assure you, all conflict between us will occur outside of your fine establishment."  
  
Ranma smiled and leaned back. "Of course. Nothing personal and all that."  
  
Gorgon looked at Ranma. "What have you done to this organization to make them warrant your destruction?"  
  
Ranma looked thoughtful. "Oh... I just busted up one of their smaller operations, then turned down a membership offer."  
  
Boran smirked. "I'd have to say that about half our leaders are scared to death of you. And then there's Garrion........."  
  
Ranma was about to make a comment about that when a cheerful voice rang out from behind him. "Father, I think there's something you ought to- Ranma!"  
  
Said space pirate gulped lightly and turned around, only to have his vision blocked by a very ample pair of breasts just barely contained by a leapord-print one-piece bathing suit. He quickly raised his gaze to see a beautiful face looking down at him framed by a long blond mane of hair.  
  
Boran blinked.  
  
Ranma gave a nervous smiled and slowly started backing away. "Heh heh heh...... Miyuki, whatever are you doing here?"  
  
"I live here." She said simply as she got on her hands and knees and started leaning over him. Ranma backed himself up, and then fell onto his back as Miyuki slid her body across his to look him in the eyes.  
  
"Oh yeah. Forgot........." 'Calculating possible escape routes....... WHOA! Sensitive area! Brain locking up! Damn, how does she do that?!'  
  
Boran had abandoned the girls that were with him earlier and moved to stand over the couple, noting that Ranma seemed to be sweating heavily.  
  
"My my, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting this one. Miyuki, was it?"  
  
She didn't look up at him, but kept crawling onto Ranma. "Go 'way. Busy."  
  
Gorgon coughed, then leaned over the table. "Miyuki, dear, could you wait a bit? Saotome has just arrived, and we were more or less in the middle of something." Next to him, Sonya giggled at her daughter's antics.  
  
Miyuki sighed and sat up straight, though she settled her hands in Ranma's lap. Ranma didn't budge a millimeter. "Yes?"  
  
Gorgon waited for her to speak. Ranma twitched. Boran noticed what she was doing with her hands and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Miyuki blinked as her father just sat there. "What?"  
  
"Didn't you have something to tell me?"  
  
Miyuki frowned, momentarily taking her hands off Ranma, who took the opportunity to get up into a sitting position facing away from the girl.  
  
"Oh yeah! There's a fight going on in the bar! I think you wanna see this!"  
  
Gorgon frowned and then took out a remote control of some sort. Hitting a button, a viewscreen appeared in midair above the table, showing a camera's view from both sides of Rayden's fight with the gang.  
  
Ranma blinked. "Shikodan?"  
  
Boran frowned. "What? Those are my men!"  
  
Miyuki smirked. "Well they're getting thrashed. That'll teach them to mess with Ranma's crew." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso.  
  
Ranma was watching the fight and appraising Rayden's technique. Apparently he had gotten ahold of one of his attacker's vibroblades during the course of the battle.  
  
He winced. "Uh, hey Rehli, that one's an Abyssin, right?"  
  
Boran watched the fight with a look halfway between fascination and horror. "Um... right."  
  
Ranma nodded. "That's good. It would really suck if that didn't grow back."  
  
Gorgon turned to Miyuki, who seemed to be trying to get Ranma's attention by nuzzling his neck. "Dear, who started this? What's this all about?"  
  
She looked up and him and pressed her body more tightly against Ranma's back. "One of the Twi'leks tried to rape that girl with the green hair. Shikodan stopped him, the Twi'lek shot him, and then Shikodan beat him. Then the guy's friends started mixing it up. I didn't catch everything though. It's hard to hear from the balcony." She shuddered suddenly, then realized that the body she was clutching had suddenly become several degrees colder.  
  
"He tried to WHAT?" Ranma said calmly, but placing much emphasis on the last word. Sonya shuddered, as did her daughter. Gorgon nodded.  
  
Miyuki backed off slightly before hesitantly replying, "He, uh, grabbed her and asked her for a quickie, I guess, and when she refused, he started dragging her out of the bar. After he was shot, Shikodan stopped him, and broke his hand before smashing him into the wall." Ranma seemed to calm down, though only marginally.  
  
Boran was deep in thought. 'Those imbeciles! They're going to make me lose face before Gorgon! Those idiots have no idea how hard it was for me to get this far! I will not allow this!'  
  
"I'll put a stop to this right away. There's no excuse for this behavior." Boran turned around and left, quickly followed by Ranma and Gorgon.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Ow! God dammit, that hurt!"  
  
*Crash* *Boom*  
  
"Put that down! I'm warning you!"  
  
*Shatter* *Crunch*  
  
"I warned you......."  
  
"Negreeeeeeaaaaaaaaa!!!"  
  
*Slash* *Bam*  
  
"Sonuva..."  
  
*Wham* *Wham* *Wham* *Wham* *Wham* *Wham* *Wham* *Wham*  
  
"And STAY down this time!"  
  
  
  
From across the room, Yuri sat on one of the barstools sipping some caf as Arak went on about the history of the Gorgon Moon. For the most part, she did her best to ignore him and watch the fight, occasionally nodding her head so he wouldn't try to get her attention.  
  
She winced as a Rodian was smashed into a table and landed in a rather painful-looking position. Then she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye and watched as a man with blue skin, followed by Ranma and some other man, entered the bar from a hardly noticeable entrance near the back.  
  
  
  
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"  
  
All at once, the men attacking Rayden froze (well, those that were capable of moving at the time) and turned to look at Boran. Rayden was holding up a Twi'lek in the air with one hand, while concentrating on keeping the Abyssin pinned to the floor with his foot. He looked a little worse for wear, with his trench coat cut up here and there, but all in all a lot better than most of the bodies surrounding him.  
  
Boran pointed to him and stalked up. "You. Who started this? Who was bothering the girl?"  
  
Rayden blinked and dropped the alien he was holding, then jabbed a thumb over to the unconscious Twi'lek on the other end of the room.  
  
Boran's face would have reddened in anger, except that the unusual pigmentation of his skin, combined with the distribution of blood cells, made it biologically impossible. So instead he just glared at the unconscious figure.  
  
"Bah! I should have known! You two, get Narra out of here! I don't care what happens to him, but I never want to see his hideous face again!" The Rodian and human quickly complied, grabbing up their comrade and dragging him out of the establishment.  
  
Boran turned to Gorgon, who was looking at the whole scene with a rather bemused expression on his face. "I sincerely apologize for this disturbance, Lord Gorgon. I of course shall fully compensate you for the damage done to your abode."  
  
Gorgon nodded, his face completely neutral. Rayden blinked, then shrugged and walked over to the small group.  
  
Gorgon took a long look at the interior of the bar, then glanced at Ranma.  
  
"Ranma, I ask that you forgive the disturbance your crew has suffered under my roof. If you wish, both you and your men are more than welcome to my inner sanctum for the rest of your stay here."  
  
Ranma nodded his assent, even as he gulped internally. The problem with staying the night in Gorgon's palace was that all the bedrooms in the inner sanctum belonged to the girls that lived there.  
  
Of course, neither Rayden or Arak protested this little detail, so they both thanked the owner of the palace and moved to follow him back into the center of his home. Besides, both had business they needed to take care of inside. Yuri followed Rayden, glad to be out of the bar. This had been a nasty experience for her, to be sure, though it did offer her a new point of view towards her current kidnappers/guardians.  
  
  
  
Boran stared hard at Ranma as he and his crew, including the girl, went ahead of him along with Gorgon. It was not lost on him how Gorgon had offered his hospitality exclusively to Ranma. His crew had not been given permission to enter, no surprise really, but the level of trust and faith he had put into this group was simply inreputeable.  
  
'Ranma Saotome... what is your secret? How do you command such respect? Such power? And how did you snare Miyuki?' Now THERE was a woman that he wouldn't mind spending the night with. Sensual, sexy, uninhibited, and he had to say he really liked her taste in swimwear, as well as her obvious tendency to wear it even when she wasn't swimming.  
  
Realizing that he was being left behind, he sighed and made his way past the passage back to the 'playroom'. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted tonight. There would be time for that later.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Upon reentering the inner sanctum of Gorgon's palace, Rayden had split from Arak and Ranma, taking Yuri with him and explaining that they were discussing business.  
  
Yuri let her mind wander as to what that meant, and came to the conclusion that they were selling stolen goods or something.  
  
She was right. But then, that was the least she could expect of them.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" She looked up at him curiously. It had taken some time to get used to being around someone that towered over her like Rayden did. She was tall for a girl, a little taller than Arak in fact, and his size made her wonder if he was truly human, or if he came from some planet with extremely high gravity or something.  
  
Rayden looked around and grinned. "Well, since Arak and Ranma are gonna be busy making money, it's up to us to have the fun around here. The pool and buffet tables aren't just around for us to look at, ya know."  
  
Yuri shrugged. It sounded better than watching Ranma pawn off his ill- gotten goods. Then she noticed that Rayden had focused his attention on three girls in particular that were gathered off to the side and chatting. What was odd is the way they kept looking at the various other girls in the room and then huddling slightly, as well as the fact that they were the only ones in the room wearing street clothes.  
  
"But first, some information." Rayden walked up to them, and Yuri walked up behind him, curious as to what he was talking about.  
  
  
  
"Huh! Will you look at Miyuki? That girl, is like, such a slut!" The girl with light brown hair said to her friends.  
  
"Puh-leez! Can you blame her? That Saotome is like, a total hunk!" Her redheaded companion retorted.  
  
"I hear that he picked up some tramp on Keeryu, but they haven't done it yet." The girl with black hair felt the need to interject her own tidbit.  
  
"Hey! I am not a tramp!" A shout of indignation caused all the girls to focus on their eavesdroppers and blush in embarrasment.  
  
Rayden chuckled and pointed to the group. "Yuri Xero, may I present April," he pointed to the one with light brown hair, "May," the redhead, "and June," he finished, pointing to the girl with raven hair.  
  
Yuri blinked, but recovered in time to greet each of them politely. 'Weird names.......'  
  
April looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "So Shikodan, like, what brings you here?"  
  
May nodded and giggled. "I hear you're, like, playing the hero now."  
  
June smirked. "Facing up to huge organized criminal organizations and protecting remote, isolated planets from alien attack? It's like you've turned over a new leaf or something!"  
  
Rayden sweatdropped. "Uh... new leaf. Right. Anyway, I need some information."  
  
Suddenly April turned toward her sisters. "Oh! Speaking of information, did you hear about daddy's new spy?"  
  
May shook her head. "That ninja guy that likes to dress like a girl? Puh- leez! Don't even get me started!"  
  
"Cross-dressing is like, so totally uncool, it's not even funny." June put in her two credits without hesitation.  
  
Yuri looked back and forth between each girl, and was starting to grow frightened. She had no idea how they could have known about the incident on Morcan, as they had gone straight here after they left the system. Added to the eerie coordination between them, the fact that they looked identical besides the color of their hair and their clothes, their names, and the way they never seemed to talk out of turn made it rather eerie.  
  
"Are they usually like this?" She asked her companion warily.  
  
"ALL the time. Just follow my lead, okay?"  
  
Rayden turned back toward the girls. "Say, you heard anything involving hideous unidentified aliens recently?"  
  
April looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, you mean like, those totally freaky aliens with the biological ships?"  
  
May nodded. "I, like, heard that they've, like, attacked three star systems so far, tearing apart the local fleets and tearing up the cities on the surface. But it's, like, ya know, weird and stuff, the way they don't take anything and seem to suddenly leave after the ground troops start walking around."  
  
June leaned back on a marble pillar nearby. "I heard that they've only struck planets which have odd, indecipherable ruins left from, like, ancient civilizations and stuff."  
  
"I heard that they communicate through telepathy, and have learned to modify there gene structure, like, through advanced bio-mechanical engineering or something." April added.  
  
This caught Rayden's attention. "What?"  
  
May looked at him and frowned. "You ARE aware, of course, that trench coats went out of style, like, two months ago, right?"  
  
Rayden blinked. "Uh... right. Now about those ships.......?"  
  
June looked disgusted. "Ugh! And Garghran leather is SO last week! Right now Tuftgaffi cloaks are ALL the rage for people that like heavy clothes that they can easily conceal weapons in."  
  
He sweatdropped and pulled his coat a little tighter around him. "Uh, thanks, but I think I'll stick with this for now."  
  
April rolled her eyes. "All right, fine. But like, don't come crying to us when your girlfriend leaves you for someone with a fashion sense."  
  
Rayden blinked again. "I don't have a girlfriend."  
  
May gave him a look. "And you wonder WHY?"  
  
"No."  
  
The conversation was getting a tad too surreal for Yuri, who decided to step forward and ask a question of her own.  
  
"Hey, how do you know all this stuff anyway?"  
  
June rolled her eyes. "Puh-leez. If you have to ask, you'll never know."  
  
Yuri blinked and tried to interpret that logic. In the end, it got her nothing but a small headache. "What?"  
  
Suddenly she found herself surrounded by the girls, who started appraising her.  
  
April took one of her hands. "Like, when was the last time you had a manicure?"  
  
"Uh... about a month ago," she answered uneasily.  
  
May ran a hand through her hair. "Long and straight, very stylish nowadays, and like, totally low-maintanence."  
  
June nodded in agreement. "I agree. I like the hair, but the clothes HAVE to go."  
  
The girls looked at each other, then smiled and shouted out as one, "MAKEOVER!!!"  
  
  
  
Rayden slowly inched away as the girls continued fussing over Yuri. He had wanted to get more information, but they got distracted too easily for him to learn much more.  
  
Besides, now they were entering that little field known only as 'girl talk'. Rayden shuddered. Once he had stuck around to listen, and that had been one time too many. Those three were just plain weird.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"So, I understand that you've made some... modifications to this technology you've stolen, Arak." Gorgon eyed the smaller man carefully.  
  
Arak shrugged. "Those research facilities have done their part and provided some excellent raw technology. Unfortunately, it lacked two things: efficiency and application. I simply provided that part."  
  
Gorgon nodded. "As is necessary to create a functional final product. What do you have for us?" behind him, Sonya took out a datapad.  
  
Ranma was listening carefully to the exchange, not only because he was in charge of the negotiations, but also to keep his mind off the way Miyuki's hands were kneading his shoulders. She had offered to massage other parts of his body, as well as to let him massage certain parts of her body, but she had backed down before he made his escape.  
  
Arak smiled. "The first thing I have is called the AMP weapons system. It stands for Antimatter Magnetic Projectile." He handed a disk to Sonya, who popped it into the datapad. "As you can see, it uses a new type of electromagnetic field to store and hold antimatter for an indefinite period of time. It much cheaper than current containment systems, and allows for easier deployment and much heavier payload, finally making antimatter weapons cost-efficient, though still extremely expensive ordinance."  
  
Sonya hit a few buttons on the datapad, and a holographic projection appeared on the table, showing the magnetic field and proposed deployement and containment systems. There were several notes on the sides of the diagram with lines that pointed from each note to where it applied.  
  
Gorgon looked at it, then nodded. "I like the sound of that. Though the name needs work."  
  
Ranma nodded sagely. "They usually do."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Ranma smirked. "Nothing but the truth, my friend." Idly, he noticed that Miyuki's hands had stopped massaging his shoulders and were gently finding their toward the lower regions of his body.  
  
Arak muttered to himself as Boran walked up and looked closely at the hologram.  
  
He blinked.  
  
"These notes on the side. They're just a blur." He looked at the space pirates curiously.  
  
Ranma blinked, then shuddered slightly as Miyuki slid her arms around his torso. "Well, duh. Sonya there has a photographic memory. If we showed her how the technology works before selling it, Gorgon could duplicate it without having to buy a thing."  
  
Gorgon chuckled as Sonya raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes. Saotome learned that lesson a little while back. In any case, why don't you move on?"  
  
Arak nodded and handed another disk to Sonya.  
  
"This is my new short-range plasma blaster. Unfortunately, I'm afraid its uses are limited, as it is classified as ineffective at over 200 feet. It also requires a plasma injector and power system that's simply too large for conventional blasters. Therefore, I propose that this weapon system be used for combat droids."  
  
Gorgon raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm. I see. Limited application, then."  
  
Arak shrugged. "I suppose. Which is why I'm offering the plans to my ICD series of military robots!" He handed Sonya another disk.  
  
She created a new hologram, and Ranma nodded as he looked over the blueprints for Units 01 and 02. In the back of his head he wondered why Miyuki had taken his flak vest off.  
  
Gorgon looked at Arak. "ICD?"  
  
Arak chuckled and struck a pose. "Incredible Combat Droid!"  
  
There was silence.  
  
Arak sweatdropped, then coughed and sat back down. "Uh, well, I guess you could change the name when you put it into production. If you buy it, of course."  
  
Ranma sweatdropped himself. "Undoubtedly." He said dryly, before smiling nervously at Miyuki. "Uh, can I have my shirt back, please?"  
  
Miyuki giggled and tossed the garment behind her to a few more of her sisters, who were also giggling at the sight. "No."  
  
Arak and Gorgon ignored them. "Next up comes a revolutionary type of heavy ion cannon, which I call-"  
  
"Perhaps you'd rather simply explain the technology and its function, rather than bothering with the names." Gorgon interrupted.  
  
Arak looked slightly hurt, but complied. "It funcions on a totally different level than most ion cannons, using a phase resonance compactor to 'fold' several groups of charged ions together, then hold it in place during the firing phase with a few stray protons. After impacting other matter, the protons disband, leaving the ions to spray themselves over the targeted area, causing a much wider area of effect than traditional ion guns. This weapon has a curious effect in an atmosphere though, where the air causes the protons to disband early and the ion flux hits the target in a sort of cloudy shotgun effect. It's less effective that way, but I must say the visual effects are stunning."  
  
Gorgon shrugged, then let the man prattle on about his other achievement, an improved thermal detonator.  
  
Ranma was now actively trying to run away from Miyuki, except that she was holding onto him quite effectively from behind, so that wouldn't really accomplish anything.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Somewhere else...  
  
  
  
It was a place beyond the conventional reaches of man, a vast sea of space that spread out in all directions and glowed with strange energies. Within this gigantic maelstrom of power, a tiny particle of life began to stir, growing larger, evolving, and draining its surroundings of the very power that sustained it for so long.  
  
Soon. Soon, it would be complete. And all the universe will be at its mercy.  
  
  
  
Well, it certainly would have been, had the creature not been disintegrated in the engine wash of a passing ship.  
  
"WHERE IN THE UNIVERSE AM I NOW?!?!?! WHAT'S ALL THIS BLUE STUFF?!?! DAMN YOU RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!"  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
30 minutes later.  
  
  
  
Arak idly wondered where Ranma had run off to before reasserting his attention on Gorgon, who was looking over the plans for a new type of capital ship, and combination battle/salvage frigate, designed to destroy the enemy with surgical precision and then loot through its remains.  
  
Gorgon nodded. "Excellent, as always. Your genius never fails to astound me, Tetsumi."  
  
Arak beamed and everybody in the room could FEEL his ego swelling.  
  
Sonya smiled and nodded. "These are indeed very promising prototypes."  
  
"Though not the MOST promising prototypes." A voice interrupted.  
  
Gorgon looked up and frowned at Boran. "Do you have anything to add, Rehli?"  
  
Boran gave Arak a cold smirk. "Only that these men are holding back the technology of any real value. Tell me, what of this fabled 'Apocalypse Cannon'?"  
  
Arak stuttered. "Ho-ho-how d-did you know about that?"  
  
Boran casually pointed over to where April, May, and June were washing Yuri's hair.  
  
Arak sweatdropped. "Oh..."  
  
Gorgon raised an eyebrow. "'Apocalypse Cannon'? An unusual name for one of your inventions."  
  
Arak chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Huh. Well, actually Rac named it. I just built it. With Rayden's help. Anyway it's just a high-powered tachyon beam. Nothing special."  
  
Sonya coughed. "I've never heard of any weapon that uses tachyon particles. I thought they were too unstable."  
  
Arak started sweating bullets. "Well, I mean, it's not the sort of thing you just offer up for sale, you know? I mean..."  
  
His voice trailed off as Gorgon laughed.  
  
"Quite all right, my boy. What you've shown me is more than enough. Though I'll pay less because you've been holding out on me."  
  
Boran blinked. "You're going to let them do this? Sell you second-rate weaponry while they hoard the best for themselves?"  
  
Gorgon laughed louder. "What kind of a farmer sells his farm for a single meal?"  
  
Boran didn't really know how to respond to that, so he simply stood there, dumbfounded.  
  
Gorgon turned back to Arak. "I'll give you 50,000,000 credits for the whole batch."  
  
Boran's mouth opened and closed like a fish pulled from the water. "F... fifty... MILLION credits?!"  
  
Gorgon looked at him and nodded. "It's really not so much. These plans will put us years ahead of the labs that are trying to salvage the technology lost on that convoy they attacked." He grinned. "Besides, Saotome gets special rates as he's an old friend of mine."  
  
Boran looked slightly winded. "Of... of course. Forgive me, it is not my place to question your business dealings. I was merely surprised at the amount."  
  
Gorgon shrugged. "Question them if you want, I don't throw this much money at somebody without good reason. I happen to have a very good investment for the... ah, new type of combat droid. So, what do you say? Is it a deal?"  
  
Arak didn't quite know what to say, and was wondering where Ranma was.  
  
As if in answer, Ranma appeared outside the room's large arched entrance. "SOLD!!"  
  
His exclaimation was followed by. "There you are!" and *Glomp*.  
  
Arak nodded as Ranma struggled under a giggling Miyuki. He hit a few buttons on his data pad, then put it away. "All right, I've uploaded the decryption codes into your datapad. The full plans are now available to you."  
  
Gorgon nodded. "Very good. I'll have the credits hauled to your ship. All New Republic currency though. Is that all right?"  
  
Arak nodded, then stood up and bowed before leaving for the pool area.  
  
  
  
Gorgon watched as Miyuki straddled Ranma's back in glee and sighed warmly. "Ah, to be young again. Those two would make some fine grandchildren for me." Boran raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.  
  
Sonya laughed lightly, and cuddled up next to her master's side, letting her fingers play across his back.  
  
He smiled at her. "Not just yet. We'll turn in later, dear." He turned back to the entrance. "Saotome! If I could speak to you for a moment!"  
  
With a groan and a pout, Miyuki got off of him, and Ranma scrambled for the room.  
  
"Yes sir?" He gasped. Why did that girl have to be so... aggressive all the time?  
  
Gorgon laughed at Ranma's disoriented state, to which he gave an irritated frown.  
  
"Heh heh... Ranma, I have a proposition for you. I've recently had a certain... politician take action against me, claiming that this establishment we have here is worthy of total destruction by the New Republic's fleet. Though he hasn't gained much support, his persistance annoys me. I would like to see this man dealt with."  
  
Ranma blinked. Boran looked startled, and got up from his position against the wall.  
  
Gorgon smiled warmly. "I was originally going to order his termination, but you're rather creative, and I really would like to see him totally humiliated instead. I'll give you an extra 50,000 credits to do this for me. Payable upon the recording of his humiliation being delivered, of course."  
  
Boran looked back and forth between Ranma and Gorgon.  
  
Ranma looked thoughtful. "And who would this guy be?"  
  
Gorgon leaned back and gestured for Sonya to massage him. "His name is Mal Ta'ern, a Twi'lek governor from Ryloth. As you know, some of my more frequent customers like to make raiding runs across there, and recently they've tightened security. That's not my problem, but this fool demands that further measures be taken. He doesn't know where we are, but he intends a full sweep of the area to find out, and then total obliteration of this city. You know I can't allow that."  
  
Boran had finally had enough, though his outrage was very well-suppressed. "There must be some mistake. That man was to be my fleet's target."  
  
Gorgon dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Yes yes, I know. That was before this lad showed up, though. Your group will not be needed."  
  
Boran's face was the very personification of control. "Very well. It is as you wish."  
  
Ranma was impressed, as the man was obviously seething. "Well, all right. You want to see him humiliated, right?"  
  
Gorgon nodded. "Yes. Oh, and try not to make it too destructive. We're trying to avoid having Ryloth push military action against us, and destroying the entire defense fleet won't help that at all."  
  
Ranma laughed awkwardly. "Right. As you say."  
  
Gorgon turned to the cyan-skinned man glowering at Ranma. "Boran, you are no longer needed here. You may leave."  
  
Boran looked surprised. "What of our discussion of your alliance with Shade? I am their chosen representative, after all."  
  
Gorgon blinked, while Ranma looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Oh. Right. We'll talk about that later, I suppose. Good day, Rehli."  
  
Boran gave one last glance at Ranma, then bowed deeply, and left.  
  
Gorgon turned back to Ranma. "Now that that's taken care of, how long will it be until your ship is repaired, Saotome?"  
  
Ranma blinked. "Uh, well, it's pretty badly damaged, but Rac and Rayden had a lot of time with it, so it should be ready in two days, tops."  
  
Ranma wasn't sure why Gorgon was smiling.  
  
"Well, then I'll have to insist that you spend the night here, then!"  
  
Ranma started twitching, which wasn't helped when Miyuki hugged him again from behind.  
  
"I may have some ideas as to where you can sleep tonight......" she drawled out seductively.  
  
  
  
Rayden and Arak watched impassively as their leader was reduced to a stuttering wreck.  
  
Arak turned to his comrade. "Should we tell him there's a guest room?"  
  
Rayden shot him a look. "And get Miyuki mad at us? Do you want to spend the night in a sewage ditch?"  
  
Arak shook his head and left for the buffet table.  
  
Rayden started toward the entrance, then called back to Ranma.  
  
"Hey boss! I'm gonna go mug some pedestrians, okay?"  
  
"WAIT!! Take me with you!"  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Like, these shoes are old news! Pass!" April took off Yuri's shoes and threw them over his shoulder, where they impacted Arak's head heavily. Everyone ignored his indignant complaints.  
  
Yuri was having fun. Sort of. While she had never held much of an interest in fashion, it was nice to be spending time with a bunch of girls her own age. Then again, she was still mildly freaked out by the way they acted.  
  
"So, like, what kind of style are you into? There's like, elegant princess, the military no-nonsense look, adventurer's style, or we can, like, fit you into a gold bikini and chain you to a chair." May smirked at her baffled look.  
  
June chuckled. "She's just kidding about the last one. That's, like, what we do for the elegant princess."  
  
Yuri would've fallen over, except she was being strongly supported by April.  
  
Suddenly a new voice interrupted their rushed conversations. "Excuse me girls. Can I borrow her for a minute?"  
  
Yuri looked up and saw the blond that had been grabbing Ranma earlier walking up to them. She felt a wave of envy before she ruthlessly pushed it down. After all, this woman was obviously Ranma's lover.  
  
April looked up at her in annoyance. "Like, what do you want, Miyuki? We're like, busy here!"  
  
Miyuki looked at her evenly for a moment before speaking. "You know, I think the old mall in sector 18 is having a sale today."  
  
Suddenly Yuri found herself alone with the older girl.  
  
"Purse! Purse! Like, where's my stupid purse!" May's voice echoed through the large hallways.  
  
Yuri blinked at Miyuki. "There's a mall here?"  
  
"No. But it'll be at least five minutes before they remember that." Her expression didn't waver.  
  
Yuri felt herself coloring slightly as Miyuki circled her, looking her over from head to toe. The fact that she was in a small dressing booth and topless didn't help things. She thought about covering herself, but decided that it would be best to just stay calm and see what the other girl wanted.  
  
Finally she spoke. "So you're the girl traveling with Saotome." It wasn't a question.  
  
Yuri started fidgeting with a lock of green hair which cascaded over her shoulder. "Well, yeah. Until he can get me to a safe port, anyway. And there's nothing between us!" she said the last part tensely, as if she was trying to convince herself.  
  
Miyuki raised an eyebrow. "Really? So you don't have any interest in him?"  
  
Yuri shook her head. "Yes...... I mean no! I mean, yes, I don't have any interest in him! Wait.........."  
  
Miyuki chuckled. "You can calm down, girl. If you're sleeping with Ranma, that's really your business. I just want to chat a little bit about him."  
  
Yuri reddened even more at the implication. "I'm not!"  
  
Miyuki shrugged. "Your loss, I guess."  
  
Yuri shook her head and looked down. "I... well, he's a criminal!"  
  
Miyuki blinked, then laughed. "You're talking to someone who lives in the galaxy's #1 rat hole for criminals, girl. Look, outlaw or not, Ranma's different from the rest of the morons that you'll find around here."  
  
Yuri nodded slightly. She could understand that. How many raiders would risk their own lives to save an evacuation fleet?  
  
"I-I know what you mean, but still..."  
  
Miyuki shook her head. "Still nothing. Look girl, I've met guys that are better looking than Ranma, and slept with every one of them. The difference is, you're just another whore to those jerks. Ranma, he treats you like you're a person. He CARES. He may be all 'take from the weak and give to myself', but so is everybody else in this dump, as well as most of your high-and-mighty diplomats."  
  
Yuri seemed to contemplate all that the other girl had said as she put on her new outfit. "You're right." She said simply.  
  
Miyuki grinned and winked at her. "Just wanted to get a point across, hon. We girls are all in this together. Tell me if you ever manage to get him in the sack, okay?"  
  
Yuri blushed again and was struggling to form a quick response, when she heard June's voice.  
  
"Hey! There's no mall in sector 18! I like, can't believe you pulled that stupid trick again!"  
  
  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
End Chapter 7 


	8. Feh! Luke had it Easy!

Supernova  
  
Chapter 8  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own Ranma or Ryoga, but the rest of 'em are mine. Deal with it. As long as I'm sure nobody reads any paragraph that has the word "disclaimer", I'd like to take this opportunity to say a few words. I love California, smoking sucks, alcohol is bad, religion is all a hoax ('cept Buddhism), ROMS and MP3s are evil, and George Lucas rules.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Feh! Luke had it Easy!  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
A sodden, wrinkled old man coughed gently into his fist as he crossed into the alleyway, gripping the dirty, torn rag that served as his blanket around him tightly.  
  
Across from the alley, the little man that had thrown him out smirked, and nudged one of his Gamorrean guards and gestured to the man. It gave a confused grunt in reply.  
  
Shooting a last heated glare at the man standing smugly between the two armed Gamorreans, the old man stepped into the shadows of the alleyway and settled down behind a rusted old steel crate that had served the same purpose for him many times in the past. A twisted pipe sticking out of the side of the building let out a constant stream of mixed chemicals, which settled onto his skin and rag and got him wet and lightly burned him at the same time. Trying to wrap the rag tighter around him, he settled against the rusted metal and closed his eyes.  
  
*Shrk*  
  
The man blinked his eyes open. The hiss of the gas leak had stopped.  
  
He looked up over the crate to see a young man in a flight jacket with a pigtail grinning at him.  
  
Ranma took his hand off of the gas main he had twisted shut. "Hey old timer, what's up?"  
  
The man snorted and settled back behind his crate. "Leave me alone. I don't have anything of value."  
  
Ranma blinked, then cocked his head to one side, as if considering. "Nothing at all?"  
  
The man looked back at him, and his hand tightened on the small blaster stuck under his belt beneath the rag. "No. Come and search if you want to." There were those who had taken him up on that offer. And those that had just decided that it would be fun to kick around an old man. They were all dead.  
  
Ranma shrugged and squatted down. "Naw, 'ain't my style to rob old people."  
  
The man snorted again. "'Style', huh? You must think you're some hotshot crook."  
  
Ranma's grin grew. "No. I know I'm some hotshot crook. What're you doing out here anyway? You look like you've been out here a long time, but you're not working in the trenches. Do you usually sleep in alleyways?"  
  
The old man stared at him for a moment. "I don't see why you care, but... yeah, I do. Have a pretty nice one too, over across the street, all set up dry and about as comfortable as you can get with all the pollution and occasional crossfire. I work in that shop right next to it. Make parts. I work for food. But this street is a good business corner, so sometimes a younger punk with some guards decides he wants that alleyway, and he doesn't want to spare any guards to watch his back. Then I come over here."  
  
Ranma frowned, then stood up and looked at the little man peddling power packs across the street in the opposite alley. "Well that's not very nice."  
  
The old man watched curiously as Ranma rubbed his chin, then walked over to the stand set up across the street.  
  
  
  
"Yo! Power packs here! Blaster size, carbine size, datapad size, all good quality and low prices! Get 'em here!" The little man waved his arms in the air toward the shifty, unresponsive flood of people, as if there was actual hope to get the crowd excited about such a common and inexpensive article.  
  
The Twi'lek that served as his only present customer scowled, and his brain tail twitched irritably. "You call these 'quality'? This one has a leak! A leak! That could kill somebody! Not to mention the poor job you did painting over it!"  
  
The little salesman frowned up at the taller humanoid, annoyed. "Well if you don't want it, don't buy it. And if you're not buying, let the other customers get through!"  
  
"'Scuse me, I've got business with this fellow here."  
  
The Twi'lek looked over his shoulder, then shrugged and stepped away from the stand, tossing the broken power cartridge carelessly as he made room.  
  
The little man eyed Ranma suspiciously. "I don't owe you nothin'. What do you want?"  
  
Ranma smiled warmly. "I want to kill you, and then take all your stuff." The Twi'lek raised an eyebrow and took another step back.  
  
"........................................................" After a long, and rather awkward silence, the smaller man shook his head. "Very funny. Get 'im fellas."  
  
As one, the fat, porcine Gamorreans stepped inwards to hide their employer, and behind where they once stood, two humans crouched, blaster carbines already drawn and aimed.  
  
Pressure was put on the trigger, and twin lances of red plasma speared through Ranma, passing through his body so cleanly it seemed as if they had hit nothing at all.  
  
And then his afterimage faded away.  
  
The guards and their employer gaped at the area where he had been, and then a whistle brought their attention upwards.  
  
Alas, it was too late for the two guards carrying blasters, as Ranma's immediate descent brought a heavy kick down onto their backs. Standing up again, the pigtailed pirate casually drew a blaster, and even more casually shot each guard in the back of the head.  
  
"Ya'know, the mind can play tricks on you sometimes. Like, say, if something is in front of you, and then suddenly isn't, like if your eyes aren't fast enough to track it, then your brain'll retain the last image it saw for a little while as if was still there. Neat, huh?" He grinned at them.  
  
The Gamorreans looked at each other in confusion. The salesman looked at Ranma in terror. "What're you waiting for, you stupid pigs! Kill him!"  
  
The Gamorreans, being the dumb, clueless toadies they are, started forward, and the one nearest Ranma stabbed forward with his vibrolance. Ranma holstered the blaster, stuck his right hand in his pocket, and grabbed the neck of the lance shooting towards him, stopping it a mere inch from his bare neck.  
  
Ranma tore the weapon from the guard's grip, then used it to block a thrust from the other guard while he rained kicks into the Gamorrean's thick stomach. With his first opponent stunned, he kicked away the second's vibrolance, then stuck the one he had commandeered into its throat. Ranma ignored the hollow, gurgling squeal it made as he turned back to his first opponent, still reeling from the blows to its gut. Ranma smiled, then finally took his right hand out of his pocket.  
  
*Thwack!*  
  
The fat alien went sailing into the street, and Ranma lowered his fist from the uppercut position.  
  
The little man was sweating now, almost on his knees. "N-N-Now, j-just hold on he-here, I-I'm s-sure we c-c-could work so-something out, ya kn-kn- know?" He gulped nervously at the disinterest plain in Ranma's eyes. "I've got money! Lots of money! Not here, but I can get it to ya! Just please, don't kill me!"  
  
Ranma stared at him for a while longer, then shook his head contemptuously. "Feh. You're almost not worth killing." The man's throat went dry at the 'almost'. "With this kind of life, in this kind of place, only the strong can survive. And you're simply too weak. Anybody who has to rely on money to keep them alive in a place like this doesn't deserve to live."  
  
The little saleman made a break for it, hoping that Ranma wouldn't fire into the crowd and risk hitting someone he shouldn't. Ranma kicked up one of the human guards' carbines into the air, then caught it, lined up his sights, and fired in one smooth motion.  
  
The bolt pierced him right between the shoulder blades, and his scream died with him.  
  
Ranma didn't bother with that body, as it was quickly lost behind a wall of people, all stealthily looting the corpse. Some of those whom had never gotten a taste for that sort of thing, or were simply too far away, clapped at the display of skill.  
  
Ranma mostly ignored them, rooting through the pockets of the guards for money and valuables and taking up their weapons. He didn't turn around when the old man coughed.  
  
"Look, I'm not used to acts of good will, this place being how it is, but thanks."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Whatever." He rooted through the back of the stand, stacked with the good power cartridges, and found a wad of credits. He pocketed it, and then his eyes caught something else. Looking a little deeper, he saw some kind of glassy shard and pulled it out.  
  
The old man looked on, expressionless, as Ranma pulled out a fist-sized crystal and held it up in the light. It was unusually transparent, and flashed bright panels of color wherever the light shone directly through.  
  
Ranma pocketed the crystal. "You can have the rest of this junk, if you want. I don't have time to mess with it.  
  
The old man stared at him. "Umm... I... I don't think so. As soon as you have anything of value, you're a target. I get along by not being worth killing."  
  
Ranma turned to him and smiled slightly. "Sure you do. Here," Ranma tossed him a small rectangular cartridge. "you might need a spare for that blaster." The man started in surprise, and Ranma walked away, hands in his pockets.  
  
As the old man stared at his back in wonder, he suddenly became aware of the Twi'lek that had stepped forward again and was now tapping his foot impatiently.  
  
"Now sir, if you now own this little business, if you wouldn't mind showing me some of the 'good' stock?"  
  
Still quite bewildered, the old man let his torn blanket fall to the ground, and went to work.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Hmmmm... sometimes I wonder if I got into the wrong line of work. Seems to me I do too much good sometimes." Ranma shrugged, and then yawned. Talking to himself always seemed to help whenever he had moral issues, but he was tired. Spending all night dodging Miyuki was the sort of position most guys would kill to be in. The only problem was, he wasn't one of them. It's not that he didn't like Miyuki, but she seemed to take liking her to mean that she should trip him into bed.  
  
He shuddered. Miyuki had called last night's chase 'foreplay'.  
  
The sights weren't really so grand as to go sightseeing; the prettiest colors on Gorgon's Moon belonged to a particular group of exhaust vents that spewed out some particularly bright and toxic gases. Turning around, he prepared to go find Rayden, and tossed his head to one side as a laser bolt zipped by, singing a few loose hairs.  
  
He frowned for a moment, then threw himself behind a discarded durasteel crate as more lasers tore up the space that his body had occupied earlier.  
  
Ranma muttered to himself irritably as he got out two blaster pistols. Nowadays everybody seemed to be trying to kill him. Well, actually, there were a whole lot of people who had tried to kill him throughout most of his life as a pilot, but now they all seemed to be coming down on him in force. Well, that's enough introspection.  
  
Ranma's form blurred as he sped from behind the crate, a pistol in each hand.  
  
*Bweeooh* *Bweeooh* *Bweeooh* *Bweeooh* *Bweeooh* *Bweeooh*  
  
Ranma got up from his kneeling position and blew lightly on the smoking barrels of the blasters. His two attackers, or rather the dead, lifeless bodies of his two attackers, hit the ground, each with his own set of three clean holes through the head, neck, and heart.  
  
Ranma smirked. "I still got it!" Turning around, he searched the lot he was in for witnesses to his battle, and was slightly disappointed when he learned that there were none. Not that it would have mattered in any way if there were. In a place like this, fights were simply free entertainment.  
  
Ranma turned back around and sweatdropped. Both corpses were now stripped down to their underwear, robbed of everything save their last bit of decency and the flesh that would probably feed some of the bigger aliens that wandered down here (Gorgon firmly discouraged such things, but in the interest of diplomacy, couldn't stop it altogether). Apparently there was somebody around.  
  
Frowning down at the dead bodies, Ranma considered the attack. Quickly he came to the conclusion that they were assassins. Ranma wasn't a wimp, and he didn't look like it either, so he ruled out thieves. And there was only one person he could think of around here who wanted to kill him personally. He could be wrong, but......  
  
  
  
Once more getting on his way, Ranma brought up his wrist and hit a few buttons on his tech bracer to contact Rayden.  
  
*KABOOOOOOM!!!* A nearby building exploded onto the street, and debris rained down in floods as the building slowly collapsed to the bottom of it foundation.  
  
Ranma lowered his wrist. He knew where Rayden was.  
  
  
  
Sure enough, Ranma found his subordinate in the middle of the wreckage, fiercely shoving off huge chunks of duracrete as he traded fire with several other men trying to escape the rubble.  
  
He sighed to himself. "Yo Ray! Who're they?"  
  
Rayden blinked, then ducked behind a support beam to avoid getting shot. "I'm not really sure..." He jumped on top of the beam and shot one of the other men, then dived into the rubble below to avoid the blast from the remaining two survivors.  
  
"Then why are you shooting them?" Ranma suspected he already knew the answer he would get, but he felt rather obligated to ask anyway.  
  
Rayden shot one of the remaining defenders, and the other one decided to cut his losses and stagger away. Rayden frowned. "I forget!" He called back.  
  
Ranma shook his head and walked up to his long-time companion. "Well, finish looting the place, then get Arak and Yuri and tell them we're leaving immediately!"  
  
Rayden looked startled. "Leaving? Already?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "The ship's mostly fixed up, so we might as well blow this joint. Besides, some jerks back there tried to kill me."  
  
Rayden blinked at him. "So?"  
  
Ranma looked up at him, annoyed. "So, they attacked me without provocation."  
  
"So?"  
  
Ranma crossed his arms over his chest. "So, they must have been assassins!"  
  
"So?"  
  
Now Ranma was openly glaring at him. "So, they're probably Shade operatives, dimwit!"  
  
"So?"  
  
*Pow!* Rayden went reeling into a broken chunk of duracrete.  
  
"So, I gave you an order! Move it!"  
  
"Yessir!" Rayden hurriedly stood up and saluted sloppily before scrambling away over the debris.  
  
  
  
Still muttering to himself irritably, Ranma trotted down the street of one of the commercial zones, hands in his pockets. Even here, among his own kind... well, okay, most of them were nastier than he was, and a good 70% weren't even human, but still, even here, he had to be on the lookout constantly.  
  
He sighed to himself. When he was back on his ship, then he would be able to relax. His ship was his life, his safe haven... it was all he had left, other than his friends.  
  
He turned a corner, and shot a glance at Gorgon's palace, towering over the buildings that didn't ascend straight into the roof of the massive rock they were built in. Ranma thought of giving Gorgon a personal goodbye, but that would mean giving Miyuki one too, and she always made saying goodbye as hard as possible for him. He was briefly reminded of an incident several months ago, in which she had been complaining about his constant traveling, and made a comment about him getting a wife to 'tie him down'. He had thought it a fine joke, at least until she came at him with the rope.  
  
His gaze had wandered as his thoughts, and by the time he finished shuddering in rememberance, his eyes had finished reading a sign that somehow caught his attention despite his current hurry.  
  
He blinked at the curtain that claimed the shop sold 'rare, exotic, and dangerous creatures'.  
  
He turned to face ahead of him and frowned in consideration. He wasn't 100% sure Boran had sent those assassins, but he was more than willing to simply make the assumption, and that meant payback.  
  
Ranma's frown shifted into an evil-guy-with-a-not-too-nice-plan type grin, and he stepped inside the dilapidated store.  
  
Looking around inside, Ranma took in the smaller pens first, from the various big, ugly toad-like creatures, to a strange black cat with a crescent moon on its forehead that was pacing irritably within its prison. Beyond that were more cages, holding strange creatures such as a really big horned beetle, a small pink horse with wings, a big red lizard that stood upright and had a steady flame on the tip of its tail, a fierce- looking black snake, a puddle of black ooze with a white spider emblem floating on it, a big lizard with golden scales, a jagged-toothed turtle, and near the end of the rows, a large purple dinosaur with an oversized head. He didn't understand why the last one was manacled and ray-shielded, but from the involuntary shudder from his senses whenever he looked at it, he was glad it was.  
  
He eventually stopped at a somewhat more menacing giant reptile, this one a greenish-brown with two thick, powerful hind legs that kept it erect, and two laughably small little forearms. Laughable from Ranma's side of the huge cage, that is. The head didn't look way too big for its body, but it still had lots of nastily sharp-looking teeth, and the young space pilot doubted it was really well fed in an establishment such as this one.  
  
"Ah, I see you've taken an interest in this one, no?" Ranma glanced back at the short three-eyed thing that was rubbing its three-clawed hands together greedily as it eyed Ranma's expression, his pocket, and the large creature all at once. The shopkeeper really looked more like he belonged in a cage than most of the animals he was selling. "That one is called 'tee-recks'. Excellent strength, fearless tenacity, good speed. We pick her up in some kind of space-time anomaly near little backwater planet in Sol system where some Jurains were snooping around. She'll make excellent pit beast, though she even harder to handle than rancor, and she great crowd pleaser at children's birthday parties, though you be careful about long chain you leave her on."  
  
Ranma shook his head. "Nah. I'm looking for something a little more... subtle."  
  
He turned around to look at the man, who raised his top eyebrow. Ranma coughed into his hand. "You wouldn't happen to have any... special types of creatures in stock, now would you?" The things he had already glimpsed would be more than 'special' enough for most people, but Gorgon was his friend, and he couldn't let loose something like this inside his city.  
  
This time all the little creature's eyebrows rose. "What you have in mind?"  
  
Ranma decided to be blunt. "I was thinking Charren hythra grubs, or something similar."  
  
The man's grin increased tenfold; though how that could have been accomplished was obviously a trick of his particular species. "Well, you are very lucky my friend, no? I just happen to have few lying around! Always come in handy, you know, hythra grub! Right here!" He took out a glass box, containing two pasty white, segmented slugs, each about a foot long with a spot of tranlucent blue slime oozing from one end. "Of course, grub is special item, so I'm afraid me have to charge a little extra, no?"  
  
Ranma nodded. "You got it. These will eat just about anything, right?"  
  
The odd little alien nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes! Dissolve toughest metals ever created with digestive acid! Only few things not affected by special acid: glass, certain plastic, and various biological mucus. Excellent for sabotage, slow and painful assassinations, landfill reduction, practical jokes, and even pet, once it properly housetrained!"  
  
Ranma nodded once more, and took out some credits from his pocket. This was gonna be fun!  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
He had to be here, he just had to be!  
  
Her eyes caught a mass of red, and she wheeled around to face the most beautiful sight she had seen in a long time.  
  
There, in the corner of the vast hangar, was the Wild Horse!  
  
So he was here! Where the ship was found, its captain couldn't be far off! At last, she would finally get a chance to confront the legendary Ranma Saotome!  
  
Katrina Cloud, bounty hunter extraordinaire, fought off the urge to laugh and jump up and down with glee. She had found him! Following a vague, almost worthless lead, and placing herself, a healthy and beautiful woman in the midst of the worst scum of the galaxy, she had finally tracked him down! And now! Now......  
  
Katrina frowned. Now that she was practically assured of meeting him, she wasn't quite sure what to do. She had known about his remarkable fighting ability from the beginning, not to mention his companions, but she had been so intent on simply finding him first that she never considered what she would do when it finally came time to a showdown. She was confident in her own abilities, but she felt she should have some sort of plan or something. This wasn't supposed to be easy.  
  
Nodding to herself, she glared at one of the uglier aliens that had stopped in her path, and she nearly choked in disgust as a thin stream of drool slipped out through the creases in its fat, rubbery lips. Luckily for her, it decided she wasn't worth its time and moved on. She wished she knew why it was drooling. Many alien species had taken a liking to human women through frequent contact, but there were an almost equal number who saw humans as meat just like every other animal.  
  
At last, she found her quarry, and nearly jumped again in delight. It was him! She stopped. She really should have some sort of plan.  
  
  
  
Ranma continued darting from crate to ship to droid, ducking behind whatever might hide him from view and ultimately failing to be stealthy in any sense of the word.  
  
He almost jumped when he sensed someone approaching swiftly from behind, and his hands darted for his blaster carbine as he spun around...  
  
To face a buxom woman with her hands on her hips, smiling at him warmly.  
  
He blinked, his blaster forgotten. His first thought was that this was one of Gorgon's daughters. She certainly looked like it, wearing what she was. It look just like a bathing suit to him, a strong dark blue material stretched from around her neck down to her pelvis, leaving her arms and legs completely bare and clinging to the muscled curves of her body. Besides her blue boots, the only other thing she wore was a metal weapons belt that hung slightly to one side. It certainly suited her, if nothing else. She had the body for it. Silvery-blue hair cascaded down her back in a long thick ponytail; she was a thing of radiance. She was a beauty to rival Miyuki, to be sure, though that wasn't really what he was concerned with at the moment.  
  
"You're not here to kill me, are you?"  
  
Katrina was struck dumb by the question's bluntness. Not to mention its accuracy. "What? How did you kno-er-what makes you say that?" She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.  
  
Ranma looked at her suspiciously, then started looking around. "Well, when a guy is well known, sometimes he attracts the wrong kind of attention, you know?" He smirked in the direction of one of the bigger docking ports, then turned back toward her. "So... can I help you?"  
  
'Well, here goes everything.' "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me..." Katrina adopted a sultry smile and stepped forward, folding her arms under her breasts and lifting them ever so slightly.  
  
Ranma wasn't bright enough to identify this as an actual come-on, but it did set off the warning alarms in his head. "Uh... what would that be?" Ranma was surprised he didn't choke on the words as he stepped back.  
  
Katrina smiled and slowly started walking towards the startled man. 'It seems the big, bad pirate is actually shy around women! How cute!' With a predatory smile, she stepped up right in front of him, almost pressing her body against his. "Well... tell me... what are you doing tonight?"  
  
Ranma's brain had started going into hysterics as Katrina closed in, but he eventually managed to get the hint as she started leaning toward him with that hungry grin on her face. He tried to back up some more, but found his passage blocked by a large crate. "N-N-Now wait a minute! I don't even know your name!"  
  
She leaned back a little bit and tossed her hair over one shoulder, smiling all the while. "Katrina. Katrina Cloud. And you would be Ranma Saotome, correct? So how about it?"  
  
Ranma got his neurons back in line, and backtracked to her question. Then he laughed a strangled chuckle of relief, instinctively reaching behind him to tug on his pigtail. "Huh! Funny you should say that! 'Cause I'm leaving now! Bye!"  
  
He tried to move away, but Katrina moved in closer, pressing her body against his, and his muscles all locked up.  
  
'Heh, this is kind of nice. It really is too bad I have to kill him. I haven't been out on a good date in a while. Oh well.' She grinned up into the space pirate's sweating face, and gently traced his jawline with one finger. "Now now, just relax. You're not going anywhere for a long time."  
  
Ranma sweated even more, and finished identifying possible escape routes. Suddenly new alarms were going off in his head, and he noticed that her other hand was slowly unhooking something from her weapons belt. Funny, that looked almost like one of those-  
  
*Zhoo* *Shrak!* The lightsaber cut in a wide arc, spraying sparks everywhere as it sliced through the metal crate with ease. The problem was, the crate wasn't her target.  
  
Her target didn't see it as much of a problem, and had thrown himself flat against the floor as Katrina had taken her swing. Ranma used one arm to push off from the bisected crate and slide between the bounty hunter's legs.  
  
Katrina turned around, her seductive smirk transformed into a grim frown. She slashed down on top of him, and Ranma somersaulted away, leaving only a huge blackened gash on the floor he had been laying on. "Hey! You are trying to kill me, aren't you?!"  
  
"My, how perceptive you are," Katrina muttered dryly. Inwardly she cursed the man's agility for negating the element of surprise. Now he was on his guard. Besides, she had to get away before...  
  
Looking around, she realized there wasn't much chance of any authorities bothering her about causing trouble. Most of the creatures inside the massive hangar were either ignoring the display completely, or watching it like some kind of street show. 'Well, if that's how it's going to be, then I can pull out the big guns!'  
  
Ranma growled at her. "Oh, come on! Who put you up to this? Boran?" He stopped shouting, and glared at her seriously. "Whoever it was, you can be sure they're not paying you nearly enough."  
  
Katrina smirked at him. "Don't worry, I'm no assassin. Hell, you should be flattered that you've got a big enough bounty on your head to catch my attention!" She stepped forward, raising the laser sword in a defensive position.  
  
Ranma gave her a half-lidded stare. "Yeah, I'm gushing with pride." Sarcasm oozed from his voice.  
  
Apparently this ticked the woman off, because she deactivated the sword and reached for her blaster. Ranma grinned and shot forward. Whether or not she meant to kill him, she was a girl, and he had never been able to bring himself to hurt a girl, much less kill one. If she was going to provide such a nice opening, then it would make disarming her that much easier.  
  
She seemed surprised that he could accelerate so fast, and shoved out her palm as if to ward him away.  
  
The funny thing was, it worked.  
  
Ranma's forward momentum dissolved utterly, and he felt as if the galaxy's strongest gale was blowing into him. Then, all at once the sensation was gone, and he was still hurtling backwards, eventually colliding into a maintenance droid. Ranma recovered and bounded away just before the robot was speared by several blaster bolts.  
  
Damn it, he should've known! As if the lightsaber wasn't a big enough hint, now she was using the Force! That woman was a Jedi!  
  
Ranma gritted his teeth as Katrina grinned at him and flexed her hand arrogantly. He didn't know what she was capable of, so obviously she held an advantage in defense, since it might be a serious mistake to close the distance to her. This might take a while.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Boran glared down at the smiling engineer as he stalked through the entrance to the cruiser ports, smoldering in quiet anger as he stepped onto the hovercart that sped by the few large entry ports that led to other massive spacecraft.  
  
He had good reason to be angry. 19 of his crew, several of them experienced pilots and one a good friend of his, were found dead in the rubble of a large building that the lone survivor claimed had been totaled by one of those fool pirates that he was supposed to kill. As if that wasn't enough, none of the assassins he had hired had reported back, meaning they either got themselves killed or simply left with the 50% he had paid them in advance. One was as bad as the other in his eyes.  
  
Still, he reflected, there was no point in taking it out on the little man in front of him. Even if it did make him feel better. Sort of.  
  
"So you're certain the repairs are complete?"  
  
The man nodded. "That's right. Inspected her myself, inside and out! She'll be able to take on anything!"  
  
Boran nodded, then smiled. So Saotome had escaped a few thugs with blasters. Such was less than a pathetic annoyance when compared to the overwhelming might of a fully armed strike cruiser. He would smash that insignificant pirate the old fashioned way, in glorious battle!  
  
Boran resisted the urge to cackle out loud. "Very good. You will recieve a 10% bonus for your good work. It's harder than ever nowadays to find good engineers." He didn't mention that it was easier than ever to manufacture them, and the greasy man beamed with pride. He always liked humans. Though he himself was only a hybrid, he found most non-human's... distasteful.  
  
Boran stepped off the transport, and walked over to a heavily armored set of blast doors that led to the interior of his command ship. He noted, to his curiosity, that a good number of his crewmates and pilots were standing outside of it.  
  
He frowned as he looked around at the crowd, and they hesitantly stepped back wordlessly. Now very curious as to what was going on, Boran wasn't looking at the doorway when he hit the button to open the blast doors.  
  
The surrounding men flinched back, and the engineer gasped.  
  
Boran turned around, and stared.  
  
It was like looking into a cavern. Bulkheads that used to make up hallways and rooms were gone, and floors and furniture were partially dissolved, leaving a few scattered pieces lying among the smooth, glossy remains of the durasteel floor. Looking through the space that used to make up two armories and a war room, Boran could see that several fighters in the hangar had disappeared, only leaving the reinforced cockpit panes and a few engine components on the ground to indicate they ever existed. It looked as if a huge fireball had entered the ship and melted a huge path through the walls.  
  
The engineer scratched his head and sweatdropped. "Well... I suppose this means I can forget about the bonus?"  
  
Boran turned around and shot him.  
  
The crew watched impassively as the corpse hit the floor.  
  
Boran was twitching sporadically, and his chest heaved. "Find him!! KILL HIM!!! NOW!!!"  
  
Many of the men were wondering who he was talking about, but some were well-informed enough to lead the others away.  
  
"He will pay for this! He WILL PAY!!"  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Ranma ducked under another slash from Katrina's deadly weapon, then backflipped away on top of one of the smaller personal ships.  
  
Or rather, he tried to. At the peak of his jump a wave of Force slammed into him, tossing him roughly into another stack of crates. Ranma scrambled away as the bounty hunter tried to hit him with her blaster while he was down, and managed to make it onto the other side of the craft.  
  
Ranma ignored the woman's demands for him to slow down and make an easier target of himself, instead opting to run across the hangar to his own ship as fast as possible. Amused aliens smirked at him as he ran past, enjoying the free entertainment immensely.  
  
When he was about halfway across the hangar to his ship, however, when yet another obstacle presented itself. Namely a large group of men armed with blaster rifles who decided to blockade the way to his ship, shoot at him, and generally make quite the nuisance of themselves. Ranma ducked behind a hovercart, which was quickly rendered inoperable by a hail of laser bolts, though it still provided plenty of cover.  
  
  
  
Katrina rounded the corner of the ship only to have to duck behind the engine again as waves of supressed fire rained down upon her quarry, coming from a small army farther down in the hangar. Spectators that had been watching the display gleefully now glared hatefully at the participants as they fled, being forced to escape the rain of plasma and abandon their ships and goods to the destructive energies. The two creatures on the hovercart weren't so lucky, not being given such a choice, and were quickly killed.  
  
Katrina growled at the men as she watched Ranma take out his pistols and return fire. This was her battle! How dare those buffoons interfere?!  
  
That was the problem though. There were many of them, and only one of her, and her limited ability with the Force could only compensate so much for overwhelming numbers.  
  
Still, she had to make this kill!  
  
She took out her blaster and started to aim, only to feel a surge of searing heat pass by her fingers. She recoiled in shock, and then looked down at her weapon to find that it had been reduced to a charred handle in her fist. Looking up at her quarry, she realized that he was glaring at her. He had shot it right out of her hand!  
  
Ranma then redirected his attention on the more massive threat, seeming to forget about her. Katrina grit her teeth as fury waged war with determination and caution.  
  
'Fine! If that's the way he wants to play it!'  
  
Her plan of action set, Katrina took a deep breath and waited for a break in the laser fire.  
  
  
  
"This sucks. This really sucks." *Shoo* *Shoo* "Okay, that's two more down- " *Boom!* "YOW! Geez, they blew through the engine block already?! This thing isn't going to provide me with much more cover!"  
  
Ranma decided he would have to make a break for it. One good jump should take him on top of that bomber there, and-  
  
His finely honed senses alerted him to new danger coming from behind him, and not in the form of a blaster bolt.  
  
'No way. No way she would actually... oh damn.' Ranma turned around, and his feet lashed out as the lightsaber swung down.  
  
Katrina stood there, wide-eyed, as her attack was halted by Ranma grabbing her fist between his ankles, and halting the deadly beam of energy just inches from his forehead.  
  
Her honest confusion as to how he could have stopped her with such a ridiculous defense was put on hold as she remembered the far more immediate and relevant problem of several laser bolts being fired by jerks who weren't terribly particular as to who they hit.  
  
'I'm gonna die............... crap.'  
  
Then she was yanked downward, out of harms way, her face pressed into Ranma's chest and her shoulders boxed in between his knees. 'He... he saved me... I was about to kill him and... hey, my lightsaber is free!'  
  
"Don't... even... think about it!" Ranma growled, causing a short blush. Killing him now wouldn't help much, anyway.  
  
She sighed as she listened to the barrage of laser blasts eat away at the mass of hovercart. "I assume you have some sort of plan?" she mumbled into his chest.  
  
Ramna muttered something incomprehensible. "I HAD a plan, but then somebody came and got in my way." Katrina blinked. "Look, if you want to get out of this alive, just stay down, okay? And if I tell you to move, MOVE!!"  
  
She blinked again, and slowly rolled off of him, her own weapon deactivated, before sitting up against the hovercart and bracing herself. Ranma tensed up, then whipped out a blaster in each direction, and shot the two men that were trying to flank their position.  
  
"Nice shot," she muttered.  
  
Ranma went over his options. Then he almost smacked himself in the head. He still had his tech bracer! Smiling in relief, he shot someone who was trying to rush over the hovercart and shoot them, then hit a single button below his wrist.  
  
Katrina gulped and stared uneasily at the Rodian that now lay between them with a hole in its chest. "Uh... so...... I'm kind of hoping that you're smiling because you have a plan and everything's gonna be okay, instead of perhaps because you've accepted your grisly fate and will die at peace with the world around you. You know, 'cause I'd kind of like to live too."  
  
Ranma glanced over at her. "Look, just be ready to shove this thing into those guys with your Force powers when I give the signal, then stop worrying about it."  
  
Hope shined in Katrina's eyes. *Shrak!* Then she screamed as a blaster bolt pierced their barrier directly to the left of her, showering sparks along her long, bare legs.  
  
Ranma didn't seem to notice. "Four... three... two... one......... checkmate."  
  
Katrina looked at him questioningly, for all of the 6 microseconds between the end of his sentence and the massive explosion behind them.  
  
Right then seemed quite a fine time to panic, and she was about to do so, when Ranma shouted out "NOW!!!" and she almost reflexively struck out at the hovercar's remains with the Force.  
  
She could see clearly once the cart had sped away and slammed into the line of confused criminals, and stood stunned in astonishment at what she witnessed. A red, glowing, molten crater stood in the center of the former enemy line. Rivulets of yellow plasma lay splashed around the crater, indicating the impact site of a high-yield explosive of that type. For that matter, several fairly large balls of energy were streaming into the enemy, sowing death among their muddled ranks.  
  
At the end stood a large man firing a large blaster carbine in each hand, aided by two robots of roughly the same size on heavy, triangular caterpillar treads, hurling balls of plasma energy into the fray.  
  
Ranma adapted to the sudden shift in advantage far more quickly than she did, taking out his guns and raking blaster fire across the field.  
  
Katrina, for the most part, just stood there, noticing that most of the men that had them pinned down were retreating in panic.  
  
  
  
"Aw geez, there's more of them back there! Come on! Let's go!" Cursing internally, Ranma grabbed the shell-shocked Katrina and dragged her past Rayden and the droids, the former of which glanced at him questioningly for some reason.  
  
Ranma noticed more of the men coming out from behind some smaller, personal ships, and scooped up Katrina in his arms. Ignoring her surprised squeak, he leapt atop of the smaller ships, letting the wild blaster fire pepper the armored hulls with little black craters. He continued jumping from ship to ship until he came to his own, tucked away in the corner of the humongous hangar. Arak sighed in relief at his appearance, and Yuri blinked in startled surprise.  
  
Katrina stared in alarm at the multitude of dead, and mostly charred, bodies that lay about one side of the ship, but Ranma paid them no mind.  
  
"Okay, we've got trouble, so get Rayden back here quick, and get ready to jump for Ryloth as soon as we're out of the asteroid belt, got it?" Without waiting for a reply, Ranma entered the Wild Horse, his shapely burden still clinging to his neck.  
  
Arak nodded absently, assured that Rac had already heard and relayed the message to Units 01 and 02. He himself merely turned around and entered the ship after his captain.  
  
Yuri was still staring at the spot Ranma had stopped at, and suddenly snapped out of it. "Hey! Who was that girl he was carrying?! Arak!"  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
*Shoom* *Shoom* *Shoom* *Shoom* Rayden grinned as wave after wave of blaster bolts and plasma balls washed the surrounding area with golden, liquid flame, cleansing the hangar of his enemies... as well as a lot of other stuff too. Collateral damage. Unimportant. The molten fire blazed brightly as one of the smaller personal ships underwent a chain reaction in its damaged engines, exploding in a plethora of sparks, fire, and shredded metal.  
  
A most glorious sight, to be certain.  
  
*Beep* "CAPTAIN SECURED. AREA PACIFIED. ORDERS ARE TO RETREAT IMMEDIATELY." Unit 02 turned towards him as it drawled out the orders, shining the red, glaring light of its single stripe of optical sensor right in his eyes.  
  
Rayden shook his head and slipped one of the blaster carbines in his coat, then fired a few shots at random to discourage any lingering enemies to try their luck. "All right, full reverse! Let's get outta here!"  
  
The two torsos quickly rotated the other way, and their treads moved in a tight arc to turn to the other direction, allowing full forward movement. Rayden followed as best he could while randomly firing at moving objects, and found himself hard-pressed to keep up.  
  
However, something caught his eye, and he stopped firing and retreating to stare at it.  
  
  
  
Boran stepped out into the hangar, his gray eyes blazing in cold fury. He raised a blaster into the air and fired, sending a shower of sparks onto the durasteel floor. Of course, it didn't attract much attention, as most of the hangar's occupants had spent the last 20 minutes avoiding heavy laser fire, but it attracted enough to serve his purpose.  
  
"If I may have your attention! I am offering a job. To anyone here who may take it. 5,000,000 credits! 5,000,000!! To the man, woman, or... other creature... that can destroy Ranma Saotome or the Wild Horse and bring me proof of the deed! I will pay DOUBLE for those who manage both!!"  
  
Many of the creatures gathered around the general vicinity gazed up at him in astonishment and poorly diguised greed, while others had managed to hear the words "5,000,000 credits", and were starting to gather.  
  
"Now! To any who wish to collect this reward, Saotome's ship will be taking off from Gorgon's Moon when that man," Boran pointed straight at Rayden, who glanced about suddenly as if the space captain might mean someone else, "reaches the ship! I suggest you hurry." Boran turned around abruptly, then stalked away.  
  
  
  
Rayden sweatdropped as he regarded the mass of various criminal aliens that stared at him impassively as they slowly unholstered their weapons.  
  
He idly noticed that the battle drones had already gone far on ahead to the ship. Plus he had only brought one plasma grenade; the one he had already used.  
  
There were only so many words that could sum up the situation.  
  
"Oh, fudge."  
  
-Were not two of them, but he said them anyway. Right before he turned around and ran like hell.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Rac, do a primary and secondary systems check. Make sure that all systems are up and running. We're gonna have to take off fast, and get out of the belt before we can make the jump to hyperspace."  
  
One of Rac's spherical drones floated nearby, and a screen lowered itself and flashed several timing windows across it.  
  
"SYSTEMS CHECK COMPLETE. TURBOLASER TURRETS 4 AND 7 OFFLINE. LAUNCHER 3 OFFLINE. POWER HAS BEEN CUT TO THE DEFECTIVE SYSTEMS. ORDINANCE COUNT IS NOMINAL. POWER GENERATORS OPERATING WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS. TACHYON ACCELERATOR AND SPECTRUM FLUXUATOR SYSTEMS ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL."  
  
Ranma nodded, and behind him Katrina continued looking around her in a mix of awe and fear. "Excellent. How's everything going out there. Where's Rayden?"  
  
"SHIKODAN HAS FALLEN A TAD BEHIND. UNITS 01 AND 02 ARE CURRENTLY BOARDING THE SHIP. OH, WAIT. SENSORS INDICATE HEAVY BLASTER FIRE WITHIN THE HANGAR. AH. I'VE GOT A FIX ON RAYDEN'S LOCATION, HEADING AT HIGH SPEED TOWARDS THE SHIP. THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT HE'S RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. ETA?"  
  
"RIGHT NOW."  
  
Ranma blinked. Then jolted forward as he heard Yuri's shout.  
  
"Ow! Watch where you're going!"  
  
"Sorry! Sorry! Geez... Ranma!" Rayden burst into the bridge, gasping for breath. Small blackened patched dotted his trenchcoat, and he seemed to be walking with a slight limp.  
  
Ranma blinked again.  
  
"Too many *gasp* of them *gasp* must leave *gasp* now! *Wheeze*"  
  
Ranma's features hardened, and he nodded. "Rac, bring sublight drives online and map the quickest route through the asteroid belt."  
  
That's when Katrina finally noticed what was going on. "Hey! Wait a minute! I can't just leave! My ship is still here!"  
  
Rayden noticed her for the first time, and stared a bit before clearing his head. "We have no time! Those guys will tear apart ANYTHING that comes out of this ship! Man, woman or robot!"  
  
Ranma nodded. "Right. Sorry 'bout this, but you're coming with us. Rac, get us out of here."  
  
"THE MAIN EXIT HAS BEEN SEALED ALREADY. FOR THAT MATTER, THE LANDING CLAWS ON THE HANGAR FLOOR ARE LOCKED."  
  
Ranma looked up in thought. "Will it cause any real damage if we were to tear free and blast our way out?"  
  
"TO THE HANGAR, OR TO THE SHIP?"  
  
"What do you think?" Ranma asked dryly.  
  
"NO, NOT REALLY."  
  
"Then do it. If anybody starts shooting at us, target them with a proton torpedo and hit it. We're getting out of here, no matter who we have to tear through to do it."  
  
Rayden nodded and sat down as the ship rose, and near the back, Arak and Yuri stood looking at Ranma nervously. Katrina just kept stuttering and gaping, not totally able to grasp the situation.  
  
  
  
The Wild Horse burst upwards, and the durasteel bonds that had held it to the metal floor twisted and gave way like paper.  
  
It turned slowly, and then lumbered toward the darkened blast doors that had so recently cut off the massive complex's primary exit. Several ships rose from their landing sites and aimed their guns, but were quickly knocked aside by the deafening roar of a proton-scattering detonation.  
  
"But my ship!" Katrina insisted.  
  
"Tough! Just becase you're willing to trade your life for your ride doesn't mean we are!" Rayden sat back and growled, restless.  
  
"Easy does it......" Ranma had taken manual control, and was slowly building up speed toward the blast doors. The ship shook slightly from an explosion, and Arak brought up a holographic display of the hangar, full of little gray boxes that represented ships. Almost instantly, over half the boxes turned red.  
  
Arak gulped. "We have multiple enemy craft engaging us from the rear, sides, front, and, uh, belly!"  
  
Ranma nodded silently, and the ship shook again. Yuri stepped behind Ranma's chair and held onto the back.  
  
Rayden's grip almost tore the metal from the bulkhead he was braced against. "I don't like this. We should be firing back more. Why don't we get the turbolasers online?"  
  
Ranma shook his head as a fiery blast a few meters away sent chunks of shrapnel bouncing off the Wild Horse's shields. "No good. The spare power can do a lot more for the shields right now. Hold on, we're almost to doors! Rac, cease all missile fire!"  
  
"MISSILE FIRE HALTED. LAUNCHERS RELOADING."  
  
"Replace all front multi-launchers with plasma bombs 4X-C. Aim at the firing arc overlap, and prepare to release on my mark."  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE."  
  
Arak blinked. "Wait... plasma bombs? Inside? While WE'RE inside too?! You can't do that!" Everyone ignored him.  
  
Several other ships were now concentrating fire on the Wild Horse's stern, but to no great effect. Very few criminals could afford to buy and maintain even light frigates, and the only two in the hangar besides the Wild Horse had not ventured to pursue his bounty. Thus it was a collection of much smaller personal ships that battered away at the red frigate's shields, and many of them had veered off once they saw a lack of return fire, suspecting something was up.  
  
"................. Fire."  
  
*KA-BOOOOOOM!!!!*  
  
The blast doors were seared open from the inside, and plasma energy and molten metal alike poured through the magnetic shield and poured into space to be quickly cooled into more stable energy states. Inside the hangar the effects of the bombs were more spectacular, bursting with white- hot fire that spread around the egg of the Wild Horse's shields. It was a remarkably bad turn of events for those who had tried to cut the Wild Horse off from the exit, as they were almost instantly destroyed by the high-power explosives. Those pursuing were forced to feed power to their front deflector screens and hope for the best as the heat wave washed over them.  
  
  
  
"Shields at 30%! 23%! 10% and dropping!" Arak's panicky voice was ignored as the Wild Horse sped out of the flaming hangar, leaving trails of white plasma floating from its engines.  
  
Rayden raised an eyebrow at his long-time friend. "That was cutting it pretty close there."  
  
Ranma nodded.  
  
"Cutting it pretty close?! We were almost killed! KILLED!!! If you make it a habit to do these things Ranma, I swear I'll-" Ranma tuned him out as the display next to him beeped and revealed that several craft were following him out of the hangar.  
  
"What the hell? Why are they so eager to kill me too?" Ranma sat back in his chair, grumbling, and Yuri shot him worried looks.  
  
Rayden sighed, and lightly hit Arak over the head to get the panicking genius to stop talking. "That jerk Boran set up a big bounty for your head on the spot; 5,000,000 for you, and another 5,000,000 for the Wild Horse." Ranma whistled at that.  
  
"FOR ME TOO? QUITE UNUSUAL TO PUT A SEPERATE BOUNTY FOR THE SHIP AND THE SHIP'S CAPTAIN."  
  
Rayden shook his head. "Yeah, well that blue guy was PISSED! I'm fairly certain he doesn't intend to stop until all of us are dead."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "I suppose I should've expected it." He chuckled softly. "But it was still worth it."  
  
The others looked at him curiously. All except Katrina, who was fuming.  
  
"I... I can't believe it! Those jerks! I've been on this bounty for almost a year and only get offered 2,000,000, and they just jump in and attack for twice that! Argh!!" She turned around in a huff, glaring at the little holographic display full of red icons that were moving into attack range.  
  
She didn't realize she had said something she wasn't supposed to until the cold ring of a blaster carbine's barrel pressed into the back of her neck. She bigsweated, then looked up to see an autocannon pop out of the ceiling and aim at her.  
  
Ranma sighed as the floating black sphere next to him opened up and revealed a low-power blaster, aimed at the scantily-clad bounty hunter. He should've seen this coming.  
  
Katrina started sweating more heavily, and offered a nervous smile at the little orb that shined its red sensor light into her eyes. "Uh... did I say bounty? I, uh, meant, um........." The gun barrel pressed harder into her neck, and looking over her shoulder, she could see the scientist and the younger girl glaring at her furiously.  
  
Ranma put an arm on Rayden's arm, and the large man looked at him questioningly. "Leave her alone. We have bigger problems now." Rayden took a last glance at the bounty hunter, then lowered his carbine.  
  
Katrina gasped in relief as the pressure of the blaster was lifted, and her eyes locked onto the autocannon.  
  
"I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THIS DECISION. MISS XERO WAS ONE THING, BUT YOU REALLY ARE FAR TOO TRUSTING."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Pack it up Rac. Get all operational turbolasers online and start figuring a defense pattern once the pursuing ships get within firing range."  
  
Katrina fell to her knees as the autocannon retracted itself, breathless. She tried to get her heart under control for a few seconds before she looked around and realized that she had completely shifted out of the focus of attention. Well, almost. That greenhead was still glaring at her.  
  
"SHIELDS ARE AT 8% AND RISING. RECONFIGURING DEFLECTOR SCREENS. REAR DEFLECTOR SCREEN AT 20% AND RISING. WARNING! ENEMY SHIPS WITHIN FIRING RANGE! TURBOLASERS READY. FIRING AT YOUR COMMAND."  
  
Katrina looked about in confusion as she stood up, for the first time wondering about a ship this size staffed by 3 men and a young woman.  
  
Ranma nodded. "Fire." The whine of energy fluxuations filled the bridge, and several of little bars of light filled the holographic display to represent the lasers flowing from ship to ship. "Rayden, take the Dark Angel out there and do some damage. We may need fighter support when Boran gets his ship out here. Well, if it can still move. I'll have Rac upload our hyperspace coordinates to your ship. Make for Ryloth right after us."  
  
Rayden grinned and saluted, then took off down the hallway of the frigate, his coat tails swaying behind him.  
  
"Arak, find a good place around Ryloth to stop off while we plan our attack." The shorter man nodded and shot a last dubious look at Katrina before he too left the bridge.  
  
"Yuri," the girl in question was startled out of trying to burn a hole through Katrina with her eyes, and turned her blushing gaze toward the captain, "I need you to watch that display and tell me if you see anything unusual, like a bunch of ships massing or a new group coming out from in front of us. Okay?"  
  
Feeling strangely thrilled that she should be given a task, Yuri nodded and sat down before the holographic display, taking notes of all the enemies' positions and feeling slightly awed at how quickly they were disappearing.  
  
Ranma let out a breath, then turned towards the large computer block in front of the captain's chair. His chair.  
  
"Rac, find a common frequency to tranmist a signal. I have a message..."  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
"Wild Horse is engaging with enemy ships. They're going down pretty quickly, but the Horse's shields are almost down. If they can keep up enough fire, we should be within attack position in 10 minutes."  
  
Boran nodded, looking over the crew of his bridge imperiously. "Good. Are the magnetic fields on the damaged portions of the ship holding?" He still couldn't believe that something ate through 27 rooms in less than an hour!  
  
The tech nodded as he looked over the readings. "Damaged sectors are secure. Maintenence also called up and said that they found one of what damaged the ship, though they think there's at least one more. Some kind of slug. They found a new tunnel leading down to the cargo hold, and they're trying to flush it out."  
  
Boran glanced at him, then shook his head. "Let them deal with it. I want all available fighters to depart immediately, targeting-"  
  
"Admiral Rehli! Sir! I'm reading an incoming signal coming in over a high- wavelength frequency! Every ship should be able to pick it up!"  
  
Boran gave a start, then rubbed his chin. "Scan the signal."  
  
"It's a visual recording, sir!"  
  
"On-screen."  
  
The recording went up, and the huge video screen above the bridge went black before a small glowing red circle swiveled into view.  
  
*Beep* "ATTENTION ALL INCOMING SHIPS. I AM THE ENTITY CURRENTLY IN CONTROL OF THE WILD HORSE, THE SPACE CRAFT YOU ARE NOW PURSUING. IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED A SIZABLE SUM OF MONEY FOR MY DESTRUCTION, AS WELL THAT OF MY OWNER. I WONDER. IS 10,000,000 CREDITS WORTH YOUR LIVES? HEH HEH HEH... HAH HAH HAH HAH! HA HA HA HA HA HA!! MWA HA HA HA HAAAAAA!!!" *Beep*  
  
Boran snorted as the mechanical-sounding digital laughter was cut off, then realized that almost everyone at a bridge station below him was glancing at him nervously.  
  
"Oh, come on! You can't seriously be afraid of a computerized recording! Bah! You're all worthless!" He growled and shook his head as the magnification of the Wild Horse locked in fearsome crossfire slowly enlarged, showing the close in distance.  
  
Suddenly, the crossfire from the Wild Horse's rear stopped.  
  
"Admiral Rehli! Several of the rogue ships are retreating back to the hangar! Others are moving out of attack range and entering hyperspace vectors."  
  
Boran's face contorted with fury. "WHAT?!?! Those cowards!!"  
  
A communications officer coughed to get his attention. "Several of the rogue craft have beamed us messages explaining their hesitation. The general concensus is 'Even a billion credits is worthless if you're not alive to spend it. Loser.'" The officer had actually added that last part himself, but was hoping the Admiral wouldn't realize it.  
  
Luckily for him, Boran was far too enraged to focus his wrath on anything beyond the rapidly diminishing dot of red that speeding beyond the lazily orbiting asteroids. Light frigates being naturally faster than cruisers, the Wild Horse would have little to no trouble getting beyond the gravity fields of the multitude of asteroids before they could even get within range.  
  
Gritting his teeth and gripping the handrail in front of the captain's chair so hard his hands hurt, Boran issued his orders. "Call back the fighters." Any craft that pursued the Wild Horse without support fire would be annihilated. It was only a question of how quickly.  
  
"Sir, we're picking up another signal! This one appears to be aimed for us! It's a visual recording, like the last one!"  
  
Boran had a bad feeling about this. "On-screen."  
  
*Beep* This time, instead of the field of black, the viewscreen clearly showed the bridge of the Wild Horse, with his newly-proclaimed most hated enemy, Ranma Saotome, smiling up from in front of the captain's chair.  
  
The famous space pirate smiled a little wider, then pulled down one eyelid and stuck out his tongue. *Beep*  
  
  
  
The bridge crew turned to their superior officer as the viewscreen winked off, then collectively gulped as Boran started trembling.  
  
And then the blue tinted half-human lost it, banging his foot against the durasteel deck below him without abandon.  
  
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* "Damn him! Damn him!! Damnhim damnhim damnhiiiiiiiiiiim!!!!"  
  
*Creeeeeeak* The Shade Admiral stopped his short-lived tantrum, and stopped with everyone else to listen to eerie whine of metal bending.  
  
*Rrrrngh!* Boran's weight was suddenly no longer supported, and he fell through the torn durasteel, falling a good 10 feet before landing flat on a slightly more stable metal surface.  
  
In considerable pain, he looked up at the hole in the bridge to see a large, slug like creature sliding along on the ceiling around the tear, smoky mist wafting from the slime trail it left on the durable alloys. All around him, once flat, solid metal planes were eaten through and given ghastly, rounded shapes.  
  
Surprisingly, his last thought before losing consciousness was not another damning of Ranma, but a totally different thought entirely. 'Wait... in the background... I thought I saw... Katrina?' And then all went black.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
  
  
Rather far away, though really right next to the previous scene if you're measuring on a true galactic scale, the Wild Horse entered hyperspace, flung into the region of shortened distances on a straight-line path to the Ryloth system, home of the Twi'lek.  
  
Moments later, the venom-class fighter Dark Angel followed its mother ship into hyperspace, on the same heading.  
  
  
  
Somewhere, very far away (even on a galactic scale), a signal went out. A call. A cry. A scream.  
  
And in the depths of hyperspace, a strange, carelessly pocketed crystal glowed softly in answer.  
  
  
  
*************************************************************************** *******  
  
  
  
End Chapter 8 


	9. Death Seed

Supernova Chapter 9 by Black Dragon revcoll@peoplepc.com http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own anything from Ranma 1/2 or Star Wars. Both are far greater than I and my little computer could hope to accomplish.  
  
Chapter 9 Death Seed *************************************************************************** *******  
  
*Rac, do a full systems check. We're moving in.* Ranma's voice poured in over the communications systems, and a screen popped up that placed the positions of the Ion Storm and Dark Angel in reference to the Wild Horse. Back on the two fighters, Rac appeared on the communications display as he read off the functional systems. *TURBOLASER SYSTEMS ONLINE. CANNONS 4 AND 7 OPERATIONAL, THOUGH THEY CAN ONLY FIRE AT 45% POWER WITHIN STANDARD SAFETEY PARAMETERES. ALL MODIFICATIONS COMPLETE AND READY. TACHYON ACCELERATOR AND SPECTRUM FLUX GENERATOR OPERATIONAL.* Ranma nodded from within his fighter. "Good. Rayden, you all right?" *Roger. Let's do this.* "All right then. Maintain current speed to the target area, then break off to attack. I'll handle the fighters until you've got the shields down on the target." *Gotcha boss. Moving to attack position.*  
  
Katrina sighed as the Wild Horse pulled away from the sensor shadow of Ryloth's second moon, its two fighters flanking on either side. She had been trapped within the Wild Horse for four days, and though she hadn't been locked up, everyone but Ranma had her under tight surveillance. Still, she didn't want to miss the first bit of action she'd have since boarding the vessel, so she found a seat in the bridge and watched as Arak talked to Yuri over a holographic projection of the engagement area. "So you see, at this point we're going to engage the target directly. I'll inform you when we get close enough. Then it's all up to you." Yuri nodded a bit nervously, and Arak kicked away from the holographic display table, his chair rolling up to the diagnostics control panel. "What exactly are we doing here?" Katrina ventured. "Just a little business trip. Nothing too bad," Arak ceded. "Just stay out of the way, would you?" Katrina glared at him, but after a few moments her stare lost its intensity. Looking at one of the sensor readouts, she noticed that the small group of pirate craft was approaching a larger group of small capital ships. "APPROACHING PASSIVE SENSOR RANGE. WE HAVE BEEN DETECTED. ONE OF THE FRIGATES IS HAILING US." Arak stood up, then cleared his throat. "Patch us through. Audio only." *-will not tolerate any unprovoked offensive action! Power down your shields and weapons systems and prepare to be boarded!* Arak laughed. "Give me a break. If that's all sir, prepare to defend yourselves. Rac, cut off communications. Good. Feed power to the ion cannons and heavy ion relays. Pick some targets and prepare to fire. Disable all but the target vessel." "AFFIRMATIVE. TARGETS LOCKED. MOVING INTO ATTACK POSITION." Rayden's voice floated suddenly from the comm station. *The black sun sets. Night is coming.* Yuri and Katrina appeared startled, but Arak nodded somberly. "All systems armed and ready. Fire." ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Sir! The Wild Horse is approaching!" The sensor tech looked nervously at the captain, being aware of the light frigate's reputation in combat. The captain scratched his chin as the bridge officers awaited their orders. "Strange. The freighter port is in the other direction. Why would they be attacking a diplomatic convoy?" The captain knew that Mal Ta'ern was worried about being killed by the pirates that were supposedly based in a massive asteroid belt several parsecs away, but he didn't really think there was anything to it. "What's all the commotion around here?" Speak of the devil. The Twi'lek captain's brain tails twitched slightly as their diplomatic cargo walked on the bridge. "Sir, a pirate ship has just appeared, and is commencing an attack. We are at full alert, I suggest you return to your quarters." "I knew it!" The senator cried, much to the captain's chagrin. "I knew it all along! They're trying to kill me! They know that I could have them destroyed, so they're trying to kill me!" The captain sighed. "Yes, well, we're here to make sure they don't succeed, so if you would just-" "Sir! Fighter 2, designation Dark Angel has just broken through our defensive line!" "Increase forward firepower! Take down that ship!" The captain demanded. "Affirmative sir! The first fighter is engaging our fighters..." the tech trailed off. "Yes? And?" The captain snapped, wondering why the man had stopped. "It's using its ion cannons. It's disabling each ship." The captain puzzled over this for a moment, until the tech once again shouted. "The Dark Angel is firing on us!" "Sir, we will take care of this. Please return to your quarters." The captain turned away from Mal Ta'ern, and then grit his teeth as the senator shouted in surprise. "What are those?! What are they doing to the shields?" "Captain, we have impact! Shield power at 82% and dropping fast!" "Tell the other ships to close in and try to box the fighter in with laser fire. Where's the rest of the fleet?" "More of our fighters incoming! Ion Storm is engaging!" "The Wild Horse is closing fast! They're firing on the gunships! Ion cannons only!" "This is it... my final hour..." "Sir, would you PLEASE return to your quarters?!" ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
Blue, yellow, and orange fire tore at the small capital ship like an acid, sucking away the shields. Rayden would've laughed if he wasn't busy trying to stay alive. The black, spidery form of the Dark Angel zipped through space as lances of energy slashed to all sides of it. "Hey Arak, how about a little fire support here?" Rayden rolled to one side and cut his speed, and two New Republic X-Wings cut through, raking laser fire. "If we're gonna pull this off, we'd better hurry!" Rayden accelerated once again, barely avoiding a turbolaser blast that drained his shield power, and launched another two plasma grenades that slowly arced over to the Corellian gunship and detonated.  
  
The Wild Horse finally entered the battle area, and found itself immediately subjected to heavy laser fire from many disgruntled gunners who were tired of trying to hit the fighters that were causing such a fuss. On the "neck" of the deceptively powerful craft, twin mandibles started opening up, revealing two giant barrels surrounded by cables and wires. *THOOOM* With a mighty burst of energy, huge spheres of blue-white ion charges rocketed toward the nearest gunship, leaving trails of sparkling blue motes free-floating through the inky void. The cannons impacted soundlessly, sending blue ribbons of energy crawling across the outer hull of the ship. In moments, the gunship's shield and weapons systems were down, and the ion dampers were overflowing as they tried helplessly to further contain the massive energy flux.  
  
As the gunship tried in vain to restart its fried electronic systems, the Wild Horse turned to the next of the three gunships guarding the Corvette that held the target. They started to branch off in different directions, a good idea since Arak had only built the Ion flux cannons into a straight forward firing arc. The Wild Horse's other ion turrets rained blue lightning through the area, taking out fighter after fighter as they attempted attack runs on the mighty frigate.  
  
The last X-wing in the immediate area shook violently as Ranma's ion cannon played havoc with its drive systems. Unable to maneuver, the fighter was struck by another might bolt and lay dead in space. The Ion Storm veered off, approaching the firefight almost leisurely as the Wild Horse rendered another gunship helpless with a concentrated burst of ion fire. Right next to the Corvette, and firing with a desperate futility at a faint charcoal colored shape outlined by the pure black of space, the final guard ship burned with a beautiful luminescent light as high-pressure plasma scorched its armor. The firing stopped, and the gunship began to move away from the battle, though not heading toward the planet or any of the space stations. Most likely shooting for a break into hyperspace.  
  
Completely alone, the Corvette fired its weapons in wild arcs all around it, to no avail. Huge twin ion bolts blasted into its side, its shields already decimated by the powerful plasma grenades. ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
*SHIELDS ARE DOWN. WEAPONS SYSTEMS ARE DOWN. DRIVE SYSTEMS ARE DOWN. THE TARGET IS DEAD IN SPACE.* Rac's electronic voice boomed over the communications link, and Ranma flipped a switch on his console. "All right, here's where the fun begins. All craft, switch over to modified primary weapons systems. Prepare to fire on my mark." *THE TARGET SHIP IS HAILING US.* "Ignore it. Ready?" *I'm gonna enjoy this...* Ranma grinned at Rayden's exuberance. "Fire at will." ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Sir! All ships are opening fire!" The tech shouted in panic, then looked to the corridor as if thinking he might make a break for the escape pods. "How long until shields are up?" The captain shouted back, though he knew it was useless. On the floor next to him, Mal Ta'ern clutched his brain tails to himself, gibbering wildly. "Uh, sir?" "What is it?!" The captain snapped. The man was at the station monitering the damage to the ship, and he wasn't particularly in the mood to hear him. The tech winced, then glanced back at his readings. "Sir, I'm reading no damage to hull and armor beyond what we've already sustained from the plasma weapons." The captain blinked. "Yes? So?" "So... the scopes show them firing. Why aren't we taking any damage?" The entire bridge crew sunk into contemplative silence. That is, until the Ion Storm buzzed the bridge, blasting away as it sped past. The bridge crew sweatdropped collectively as huge patches of yellow and green splattered onto the main window of the bridge. Mal Ta'ern stood up slowly. "What the HELL is that?!" One of the techs looked at him dubiously. "It's... um... paint, Senator. They're shooting paint at us." "Really tacky colors too," one of the other techs added. Understandably confused, the senator turned to talk to the captain, only to see that the man was leaning heavily on the railing, holding his face in his hand. "I don't believe this. I don't believe this at all." He turned around, and the senator started. "Hey! Where are you going?" "To my quarters!" The Twi'lek captain snapped. "I've just been brought to the brink of destruction and then had my ship assaulted with paintball guns! I'm going to get some rest before I get demoted or shot!" He then turned toward the crew. "You've all got the rest of the attack off. Go sleep or something." The various people in the bridge looked at each other. "Sir, what if the pirates fire with real weapons?" "You think we could stop them?" The captain countered, and left into the hall.  
  
Outside, the Dark Angel made a run on the bridge, covering the yellow and green spots with blue and off-white. ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
Katrina stared listlessly as the turbolaser turrets pounded massive volumes of paint onto the target, giving it a rather awful color scheme of pink, dark orange, and swamp mud brown. "Uhm... this is probably a stupid question, but... why?" Arak nodded. "You're right. That is a stupid question. Yuri, you're on!" Yuri smiled, then hit some keys at her firing station, which attracted Katrina's interest. What was the girl doing? Yuri took hold the joystick, then moved the targeting reticle that appeared on her viewscreen onto the beleaguered Corvette. With the press of a button, the bright yellow beam of the hyper laser seared into the unprotected (though very well coated) hull of the Corvette. Arak watched for a few moments as the beam cut a few circles and made a few odd symbols that looked like bubbles. "What is that?" "IT IS A VERY PREVALENT DIALECT OF MON CALAMARI. IT SAYS 'THE KNIGHTS OF THE DARK MOON WERE HERE'. THOUGH IT IS MISSPELLED." Yuri blushed as Arak and Katrina sweatdropped. "Misspelled? Are you sure?" "ADD A HALF CIRCLE TO THE RIGHT OF THE THIRD SYMBOL. A LITTLE HIGHER." "Well, it's... creative," Arak mumbled. "Rac, what's the ETA on the Ryloth defense fleet?" "THE FLEET IS MOVING INTO ATTACK POSITION EVEN AS WE SPEAK. THEY WILL BE WITHIN FIRING RANGE SOON. I SUGGEST AN IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL." "Agreed." Arak hit a few keys at the communications station, and a link with Ranma's fighter was opened. "Ranma, the job's done and the recording's finished. I suggest we-" "WARNING!! SEVERAL UNKNOWN VESSELS EXITING HYPERSPACE!!" Arak started, and Yuri and Katrina looked at him in worry. "What? Who..." "I.D. CONFIRMED. TWO LANCER FRIGATES, WEB AND NEEDLE CONFIRMED. STRIKE CRUISER STEEL HAWK CONFIRMED. SHADE COMMAND HEAVY CRUISER TITAN CONFIRMED. ALL SHIPS ARE ON AN INTERCEPT COURSE WITH THE WILD HORSE." Arak gulped. "Ranma, you getting this?" *Yeah. Damn, I didn't think Rehli would follow us so quickly. Rayden, form up on me!* Yuri scooted over to the comm station and looked at the fast approaching group of ships. "Can't you just blast your way through them?" Katrina stared at the green-haired girl like she was stupid. Arak just sighed. "Well, we might stand a chance of doing that... if we hadn't converted all the laser cannons into paintball guns." Yuri sweatdropped. She'd forgotten about that. "We could try and fight our way through with the Apocolypse Cannon, our ion cannons, and the launchers as our only active weapons, but even if we managed to put forward enough power to bust through, the Ryloth fleet would take us apart from behind. We're stuck." Now Katrina started to look scared. "Well, don't you have some sort of plan?" Arak smiled ruefully. "Of course! I always have a plan!" Then he put his feet up on the comm console and leaned back in his chair. "I plan to wait here and let Ranma deal with it when he gets back." Katrina kicked the bottom of the chair, and Arak cried out as he toppled backward. "This is no time for jokes! We've got to do something!" Katrina growled, and then yelped as she felt a metal rod poke into her back. Turning around, she smiled nervously as one of Rac's floating drones retracted a manipulator arm. "MAY I REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT A COMPONENT OF THIS CREW, MISS CLOUD? IF YOU CANNOT KEEP YOURSELF FROM INTERFERING IN OUR AFFAIRS, I CAN EASILY HAVE SHIKODAN INSTALL A LOCK ON YOUR QUARTERS." Katrina would have retorted with something sharp and witty, but was uncomfortably aware of the multitude of autoguns that the ship's computer controlled all around the Wild Horse's interior. Off to the side, Yuri let a smug smirk cross her face before she started worrying about their imminent deaths again. "So how long before they reach us?" "THE RYLOTH DEFENSE FLEET HAS SLOWED DOWN TO A CRAWL DUE TO OUR FRIENDS FROM SHADE, THOUGH IT SEEMS THEY ARE INTENT ON INTERCEPTING THE CORVETTE. THEY WILL AVOID ENGAGING US HEAD-ON IF THEY CAN, AND WILL REACH FIRING RANGE IN TWO MINUTES. THE SHADE FLEET IS MOVING MORE SWIFTLY, BUT AT THEIR HYPERSPACE VECTOR IT WILL BE EIGHT MINUTES BEFORE THEY ARE WITHIN FIRING RANGE. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE APPROACHING THE NEAREST EXIT INTO HYPERSPACE AS WELL." The drone shined its red sensor light in her eyes for a moment, and Yuri flinched nervously. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS?" "How about cloaking and sneaking by them?" She ventured slowly. Arak shook his head. "Won't work. They know we're here, and they'll know when we'll cloak. Their scanners are good enough that we won't be able to sneak by that closely without being detected. And if they open fire while power is diverted to the spectrum flux generator..." Arak trailed off, shaking his head. "We can't sneak by them, but we can sneak away from them." Yuri twirled around at the voice, and felt an odd sense of relief as Ranma stepped in, removing his flight gloves. "Rac," he continued, "put up the cloaking field, then move to sector 81.90 at a slow pace to minimize ion emissions." Arak blinked. "But... that'll put us right between the two fleets and the moon's gravity shadow. If someone finds us, we're dead!" Ranma grinned. "Then we'll have to make sure they don't find us, won't we?" Katrina shook her head. "But where else will they look? They'll know we didn't sneak by them, and they'll know we didn't sneak by the Twi'lek fleet..." Before Rac's drone could pull out its taser, Ranma answered her, instantly making the question a valid one. "Oh, will they? Rac, send out a probe, emitting minor ion emissions as it travels on a path through Ryloth's defense fleet. Move into orbit around the moon and prepare to make a break for it after the two fleets engage each other." Rayden walked up behind him, staring at the holographic display. "Will that work?" Ranma shrugged. "I don't know. But it couldn't hurt to try, right?" Arak slapped his forehead. "Yes, it could." "LAUNCHING PROBE. PROBE IS AWAY. PRAYING..." Everyone blinked at that. "You have a pray function?" Rayden asked, surprised. "NO, BUT IT SEEMED APPROPRIATE." Arak groaned. "I do NOT need this right now..." ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Admiral, we have reached the Senator's ship. Orders?" The young admiral of the Ryloth defense fleet stared irritably at the video screen on his bridge. How could one pirate ship cause so much trouble? "Recover the senator and restart the ship's systems; I want that Corvette repaired. And scratch that rubbish off the side! What is that, anyway?" "It's Mon Calamari, sir. It says 'The Knights of the Dark Moon were here'." "What the hell does that mean?" "I've no idea." The admiral snorted, and his brain tails twitched. "Well, what do they have to say for themselves?" The holograph sweatdropped slightly. "Well, they, uh, didn't answer any of our hails..." "What?! Why not?" "Well... our scans show that they've all been released to their quarters. It's very odd..." The admiral shook his head. "I'll speak to the captain personally later." Without another word, the admiral terminated the communications signal and turned toward his subordinate. "What's the status on the other fleet?" "They're approaching at top speed, admiral. Our sensors are reading full power long range scans. It appears they're looking for the Wild Horse." "Well, then we have a similar goal, at least. Still, they're approaching far too quickly for my taste. Identification?" "We have a Steel Hawk, Titan, Web, and Needle. None of those are on any New Republic roster... Scanning a list of all known Imperial remnant fleets... nope. Let's try a more comprehensive search..." "Where does someone other than an Imperial warlord find heavy cruisers and Lancer frigates? These aren't exactly common craft we're dealing with." "Sir! I found one of them! 'Steel Hawk' was a ship that fought its way through the Galactic Police orbiting Keeryu just a few weeks ago! Unknown origin and allegiance, but I'd make a bet they're not the friendly type." "Acknowledged. If this scum thinks he can just march right through MY planet, he's very badly mistaken." "Admiral! We're being hailed from the Titan!" The admiral grimaced as he turned once again to the viewscreen. "Put it through!" He was rather surprised when a picture of a blue-skinned man appeared on the screen. All the ships but the Titan were known Imperial designs, and even the Titan itself looked vaguely Imperial. The Imperials were known for many things, among them their dislike of non-humans. The man stared at him in stoic silence, before speaking in a cold, firm tone. "I assume by those ornaments on your chest that you're in charge here, so let's make one thing clear: I'm here for the Wild Horse and the Wild Horse only. I will destroy it, and then leave." The admiral raised an eyebrow. "Oh! And what would your name be, sir?" The blue man scowled. "My name is of no concern to you. Either destroy the Wild Horse, or allow my fleet to destroy it. That will conclude my business here and I will be on my way." The admiral scoffed. "Well, feel free to destroy the man if you wish, but stay away from Ryloth. I don't care who you are or what grudge you have with those pirates, but I will allow neither to threaten MY planet." Boran looked off-screen for a moment, then his face glared hard at the Twi'lek. "He's moving through YOUR fleet even as we speak!" The admiral blinked, and his features hardened. "Really? And what, exactly, would make you think that? Last I heard the ship was cloaked, and I know you couldn't detect it from your position even if it were here." "I could detect the ion emissions from the asteroid belt if I had to! They must have a damaged engine! They're moving right through you!" Boran snapped. His patience with this Twi'lek fool was growing thin. The admiral turned to one of his tech officers, who pointed at his screen and then shrugged helplessly. Then he turned back to the fuming Shade operative. "Those emissions are originating from a probe that was shot through our fleet. It's a harmless science probe without a propulsion system. The Wild Horse is nowhere near us." Boran snarled at him, and then, without another word, cut the link.  
  
"Admiral! The fleet is still advancing! They'll be within firing range in 6 minutes!" The admiral nodded. The blue fellow obviously wasn't a lawman, or he'd have handled the situation better. And this admiral in particular had no love for rogue commanders with large Imperial craft at their beck and call. "All craft, prepare to intercept the two Lancer frigates on my mark. When they're occupied, launch our fighters. And move the Senator and his ship to the planet! I want no civilian casualties!" "Right away admiral!" ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Rehli, sir, are you sure about this? I mean, they said it was just a probe..." Several of the men of the bridge crew stared at their captain and admiral questioningly. Boran chuckled to himself, and shook his head as if the question was childish. "You don't understand. Not surprising, really." Boran straightened, then gestured with his hand. "It's very simple. A ruse. Saotome shoots the probe, and it's dismissed as harmless, or a distraction. Meanwhile, he follows behind it, and his own engine emissions are dismissed as the probe's!" The entire bridge crew let out an "Ah..." of understanding. Boran grinned. "Saotome is too clever for his own good. These fools will pay the price for their idiocy! Scramble all fighters! Onward!" "Yes sir!" ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
Katrina watched in disbelief as the holographic display table zoomed in on the battle, showing the little laser bolts as the ships came within range of each other and started firing. "Hey, can we get some better resolution here?" Rayden shouted. Instantly the picture seemed to solidify and become clearer. *Crunch* *Crunch* *Crunch* Katrina, still quite confused, stared at Ranma incredulously. Ranma noticed her stare. "I'm sorry, did you want some?" He raised the bag of popcorn to her, but she didn't do much other than gape, so Yuri took some instead. "Ooh, nice move with the light cruiser. That'll give Rehli something to worry about." "Hey look! The Lancer's trying to go around!" "Captain must not be too bright. He'll get cut to pieces by those Corvettes." "Is that an A-wing group on the left, or are those Headhunters?" "A-WINGS. THE GROUP IN SECTOR 78.03 ARE HEADHUNTERS." "This is so cool!" Yuri said, swallowing her popcorn and leaning forward to observe the firefight more closely. "Who do you think will win?" Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. Rehli's trying to break through, not annihilate the fleet, so he'll probably survive, but I doubt he can 'win'." "THIS IS CORRECT. STRATEGICALLY, ADMIRAL REHLI IS OUTGUNNED, BUT THE TWI'LEK FLEET IS TOO UNDERPOWERED TO STOP HIM IF HE WERE TO TRY AND ESCAPE. ONCE HE REALIZES THAT WE ARE NO LONGER A VIABLE TARGET, HE WILL ORDER HIS SHIPS TO RETREAT TO HYPERSPACE. THE TWI'LEK FLEET WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO STOP HIM." Yuri and the space pirates nodded in understanding, while Katrina stared, still mesmerized. Ranma tossed the empty popcorn bag behind him and stood up. "Well, it's about time we blew this joint. Rac, move us into the nearest hyperspace vector. Top speed." "AFFIRMATIVE."  
  
As Rayden and Arak moved to different stations on the oversized bridge, Ranma turned to Katrina. "So, Miss... Cloud, was it? We never really got to talk before, and seeing how we're making a dangerous escape from certain death at the moment, I figure we have some time to get to know each other." Katrina stared at him incredulously and started stuttering. Behind him, Yuri frowned ever so slightly as she eavesdropped. Ranma shook his head as he watched Katrina fall into a nervous silence. "This is about you trying to kill me, isn't it?" She gulped, then nodded slightly. "Aw, don't worry about it. You were just trying to murder someone to make a little cash. I respect that. Sort of. Well, anyway, that's all behind us, so tell me a little about yourself. How did a Jedi get to be a bounty hunter anyway?" This seemed to startle the other members of the crew out of their own activities. Katrina muttered something darkly, but Ranma couldn't hear it. Rayden whirled on her immediately. "You're a JEDI?!" Katrina nodded miserably. "Whoa! Can you do that thing where you choke them without touching them?" She blinked. "What?" "You know, like this." Rayden raised his hand toward Arak, and made a gesture as if he was gripping something in his hand. "Hey! Don't give her any ideas!" Arak shouted nervously. "Look, I can't-" Katrina was cut off before Rayden grabbed her by the shoulder. "C'mon! Try it! Use Arak!" "Hey! Leave me alone!" Katrina turned to Ranma helplessly. He noticed, and shrugged. "Actually, I kinda want to see you do that choking thing too." Katrina sweatdropped, then shook herself out of Rayden's grip. "Look... it's kind of a sore point with me, but... I'm not a real Jedi." There was a moment of silence. "Oh. Nevermind then." Rayden went back to his regular chair and began looking at the ship's readouts. Arak likewise lost interest and checked the ship's heading. Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Not a Jedi? You have the weapon, and that wasn't a rough breeze pushing me around in that hangar." Katrina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can use the force, but I... didn't make it to Jedi." "Have you ever met Luke Skywalker?" Yuri interrupted, genuinely curious. The man was the galaxy's #1 celebrity, after all. Katrina rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've met him. He's a pretty nice guy too." "But..." Ranma prompted. The young woman sighed again. "BUT, after several months into my training, he said I was very talented, but I couldn't control my emotions." Ranma blinked. "'Temper tantrums' he called them. Hmph. Well, I sort of got angry at him when he said that he was considering cutting my training, and that was the end of that." She folded her arms under her prominent chest, fuming silently. Ranma nodded somberly. "That sounds pretty bad. Sorry to hear that. Anyway, once we get back to Gor-" "WARNING! INCOMING HYPERSPACE SIGNALS!" Ranma looked startled, and stood up suddenly. "What?" "THERE ARE A HOST OF STARSHIPS EXITING HYPERSPACE AT RANDOM POINTS BETWEEN OUR ENTRY VECTOR AND THE PLANET." Arak pushed a few buttons on his console. "What kind of ships?" he mumbled. "The energy signatures are odd, I can't-" his eyes widened. Rayden stared as the craft made their exits. "Aw, HELL no..." Yuri gasped, and unconsciously grabbed onto Ranma's arm. "Those... those are the same ships that attacked Morcan!" Ranma massaged his head. "I don't believe this. Of all the places, of all the times... *sigh*"  
  
The others watched in horror as the small oval ships appeared all around them, all converging on the heated firefight taking place above the planet. Small globules popped off the bellies of the little destroyers, and the fighters scattered out in a giant web.  
  
Ranma stared hard at the displays. All the smaller ships were coming in between them and the planet, or off to the side, meaning that he still had a clear path into his hyperspace vector. This wasn't like Morcan; he had no reason to stick around and help this time. As long as none of the ships-  
  
"WARNING! HYPERSPACE EXIT DEAD AHEAD!" -exited between him and the edge of the gravity well. Damn it. Out it came. Huge and bulbous, volcanic red laced with black, with clear, pointed crystals marking its bulging mass in small clusters. Headed right toward them. "Rac! Hard to port! Now!" Ranma shouted, and all heard the groan of metal creaking as the engines struggled to bring the Wild Horse around. Yuri gulped and looked up at Ranma, still attached to his arm. "They can't see us, right? We're cloaked!" "They shouldn't be able to-" "WARNING! ENEMY WEAPON SIGNATURE DETECTED!" Ranma didn't finish his sentence. "......... We're all gonna die." Katrina stared at him, terrified, as Arak panicked over his readouts. "I'm getting a mass of energy readings! They can tell we're here! They're firing!" Yuri watched as the bright pinnacles of energy blasted forth from the crystals, meeting no shields and being absorbed into the cloaked frigate instantly. Rayden turned solemnly to his captain. "Ranma, I've never told you this before, but I was always proud to fight for you." Ranma blinked at him, the sudden admission distracting his path of thought. "Huh?" "I'm serious. If it weren't for you, I would be nothing, just some drone out killing people on somebody else's whim. You always treated me like a person, and it's more than I deserve. If I have to go, I'm glad I'll go by your side." Rayden's face was hard and serious. "Wow. That's so... touching." Katrina admitted. A pirate inspired this kind of thing in his crew? Ranma didn't really know what to say. "I... well... thanks, man... you've been like a brother to me." "Arak!" Yuri's voice startled the scientist out of his feverish study of the ship's scanner readings, and he turned to face her. "Don't you have anything like that to say?" "No, I think I'd rather just live." Arak deadpanned. Ranma blinked as he thought of something. "Speaking of living, why hasn't that thing shot us yet? We should be toast by now." "THAT'S what I'm trying to figure out!" Arak yelled. "We've been tagged, but they're not shooting! They're actually heading straight for us!" Ranma looked startled at that. "What's weird is that we're emitting two similar, but different energy signatures. One is from the tagging node, but the other... all I've been able to figure out is that it's reacting with the tagging blast somehow."  
  
As the others erupted into awkward panic and discussion, Ranma detached himself from Yuri's grip and sat down. A second energy signature? Surely it couldn't be a natural resonance from some of the equipment, or Rac would have pinpointed it. He idly glanced down the hallway, then stared. A bright, multicolored light was pouring out of the cracks of his door. Without another thought, he bolted for the hallway, unnoticed by those still on the bridge. Opening his door cautiously, Ranma had to cover his eyes to keep from being blinded as the full intensity of the rays hit him. Allowing a few moments for his eyes to adjust, he peeked through his fingers to see that the throbbing shine was coming from the crystal he had set on his dresser; the same crystal he had found in that crooked salesman's stash back on Gorgon's Moon. Cautiously stepping forward, and with his hand still shading his eyes, he gently picked it up. The light stopped the moment he touched it. 'Death...' a gentle echo seemed to float on a breeze that wasn't there, and Ranma twirled around, trying to find the source of the voice. 'Death is life. Destroyer... one of us? Destroyer help? To live, we kill...' Ranma groaned and fell to his knees on the floor, and a computer monitor slipped out of the ceiling. "I REALIZE THE IDIOCY OF THIS QUESTION IN OUR CURRENT SITUATION, BUT ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" 'Come to us, destroyer. Will you help? Help us kill? Killing is survival...' "Rac, what's going on with the ship?" Ranma desperately tried to push the voice away from him, even as he refused to let go of the crystal clutched in his right hand. "IMPACT IS UNAVOIDABLE, UNLESS THE ALIEN CRAFT STOPS OR CHANGES DIRECTION. IMPACT IS IN 40 SECONDS." 'Help us, destroyer... please... help... the key... the key to death... the ruins...' "Argh!" Ranma fell down once again, putting a hand to his head even as the crystal started glowing again. "IMPACT IN 30 SECONDS." 'Who are you?' Ranma thought, 'What are you?' "25 SECONDS." The breeze returned, but with no words for him. '....................' "20 SECONDS." 'Why must you kill? Why are you doing this?' Ranma thought, hoping he was reaching the other end of this weird communication. That was how this telepathy garbage usually worked, right? "15 SECONDS. THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME ACTIVITY WITHIN THE ALIEN SHIP." 'We kill... to survive...' "10 SECONDS TO IMPACT. IT APPEARS THE ALIEN SHIP IS FLUXUATING SOMEWHAT." 'What are we... does not matter... what were we... mattered once... what will become of us... is all there is now...' "3, 2, 1. IMPACT." ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"What the blazes is that thing?!" Boran shouted as he pulled his ships away from what had been a major firefight just moments before. Out in the rubble-strewn space, the blasted hull of a Lancer frigate floated away freely, along with the scorched remains of two Corellian Corvettes. All ships had somehow fallen under an uneasy cease-fire, and the Shade forces had obviously shown their intention to leave before a strange fleet could cut into their lines of defense. The Ryloth defense fleet, while thankful that they didn't have to spend any more time and men fighting off the surprisingly efficient criminal forces, was still plenty steamed that they had to push off a small fleet just to engage a strange new one.  
  
"Admiral Rehli sir! A transmission from the Steel Hawk! They've located Saotome!" "What?! On-screen!" Terry Orn, captain of the Steel Hawk saluted immediately once the connection was made. "Sir! It appears that Saotome somehow got behind us! I was doing a scan of those strange ships and found a solid energy pulse coming from an empty region of space directly in front of the large cruiser!" "Wow, I guess he wasn't that clever," one of the techs muttered, to be silenced by a glare from the admiral. "Get me a picture of that region!" Boran shouted. In moments, a second picture appeared on the large viewing screen, this one showing the bulbous front of the alien battlecruiser. Boran's eye twitched as he caught a flicker of light sweep across some sort of field roughly in the shape of an egg just meters in front of the advancing vessel. "That's them all right. I don't know what that ship did to them, but..." he turned around to address his crew, his eyes cold and hard. "Tell all surviving ships to enter hyperspace, moving away from the alien fleet if possible. Destroy anything that gets in the way, otherwise just move." "Sir, what about the escape pods from the Lan-" "The captain deserves whatever's coming to him for doing something so stupid like that. Move out!" "Uh, sir," Terry got Boran's attention once again, looking somewhat subdued. "Shouldn't we go get Saotome?" Boran shook his head. "Do not engage those craft unless you have to!" He looked up at the display before him and smirked. "Besides, Saotome's not going anywhere." The entire crew of the Titan watched in smug delight as the flickering stealth field of the Wild Horse shorted out upon impact with the alien cruiser. That delight turned to some confusion as the light frigate seemed to sink into the fleshy hull of the vessel. "This is the end, Saotome. It was fun while it lasted." With a cruel laugh, Boran shut down the link to the Steel Hawk, and set his route into the depths of space. ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Okay, what the HELL just happened?!" Rayden shouted irritably. Looking out the bridge window, he could see a pink, fleshy tunnel passing by, with strings of... stuff hanging down everywhere. It looked like something from an autopsy tape. Arak was no less confused. "Er... I think it... absorbed us." Yuri looked around nervously. Where did Ranma go? "So now what?" "I..." Arak looked about a bit, his face flushed, "I really don't know." "Well, can we blast ourselves out?" Ranma's voice was a welcome addition to the gathered men and women, and Arak thought it over. "We probably could, but we'd be at the mercy of the crystals outside. I'd really have to know why this thing absorbed us in the first place." Ranma shook his head. "Well, then it looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Rayden, you're with me. Rac, send a drone with us and keep units 01 and 02 on full alert. Arak, you take care of the girls, all right?" Arak blinked as his two companions shuffled out of the bridge, followed by a black, hovering sphere. Then he turned to the two young women still in the bridge, and chuckled nervously. "YOU'RE supposed to protect US?" Katrina asked blandly. "Well, thank goodness Rac's here." Yuri added. Arak sweatdropped, then turned back to the console in front of him. "I'm reading additional ships coming out of hyperspace... hmmmm... this one is an exact match for the one we blasted at Morcan. Here's another big one." Yuri quickly tired of hearing Arak speculate about how many enemies there were. "I'm worried about Ranma. Is there any way we can check up on him?" Arak sighed and rolled his eyes. "Ranma this, Ranma that, Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," he muttered just loud enough for the others to hear as he toyed with some controls. In moments, a screen appeared that showed Ranma and Rayden's backs as they walked slowly through the tunnels of flesh and slime. "This is a video uplink to the drone Rac's got out there. You can communicate with them as well, but I wouldn't bother them if-" something distracted him for a moment, and he looked over at one of the scanners. "Uhm, Rac, how long have those things been advancing on us?" "NOT VERY LONG. WHY?" "Crud. What are they?" "I'D ASSUME ENEMY TROOPS OF SOME KIND. SHOULD I BRING THE TURBOLASER BATTERIES ONLINE?" Arak looked around nervously, but saw that the girls were engrossed in watching his companions playing "commando". "Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Bring up shields too." "WITH THE CURRENT MASS DISPLACEMENT ALL AROUND THE WILD HORSE, THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE." "Oh... well... blast them before they get too close, all right?" "AFFIRMATIVE... *Beep* SOMETHING IS WRONG. THERE IS ACTIVITY DIRECTLY BELOW US." Yuri tore her eyes away from the screen long enough to panic. "What? What do you mean?" "SOME SORT OF APPARATUS HAS ATTACHED ITSELF TO EACH OF THE TURBOLASER BATTERIES. IT IS SIPHONING OFF ALL POWER." "What?!" Arak shouted. "No way! Call Ranma and-" *Look out! I saw something!* The whining sound of the aliens' unique blasters filled the speakers as the viewscreen showed the beginning of a long firefight. "IT WOULD APPEAR THAT RANMA IS CURRENTLY PREOCCUPIED WITH OTHER THINGS. *Beep* WARNING! AN ENEMY UNIT HAS BREACHED THE HULL!" "What? What's going on?!" Katrina stood up and her eyes darted around nervously. Arak turned to a damage display console and frowned. "Are you sure? I'm not reading any damage to the-" Yuri gasped as a red tentacle creeped out of the floor, and began to slither toward Arak. "Look out!" *Zhoo* *Vwoosh* The lightsaber took the tentacle off in a single stroke, and Katrina backed up into a guard position as two more tentacles phased out of the floor. Arak ushered Yuri away, and all three of them watched as a head and torso followed the tentacles onto the bridge. *Bzzt!* A hatch opened on the cieling, and an autogun popped out. *Rattattattatta!* The alien seemed to... groan desperately as the bullets tore it apart, and its arms seemed to shrivel into nothing before being followed by the rest of its body. The humans let out a breath of relief. "*Beep* WARNING! MULTIPLE UNITS HAVE ENTERED THE SHIP! SEVERAL UNITS ARE ALSO TRYING TO BLAST OPEN THE ENTRY HATCH." Arak blinked. "What? Why? Can't they just phase through it?" "NEGATIVE. I'M READING A DIFFERENT ENERGY MAKEUP FROM THE UNITS THAT ARE ENTERING THE SHIP FROM BELOW." Arak squeaked as several more tentacles floated up through the various consoles, the lights flickering as the energy flows shifted. Then he found himself yanked back into the hallway and away from the bridge. Turning around, he saw Yuri leading the way further into the ship, while the hum of Katrina's light saber was evident from behind him. "We've got to get out of here! Rac, get those robots down here and clear the path in front of the entry hatch!" "IMMEDIATELY." The sound of metal grinding upon metal echoed through the passageways of the ship as the two combat drones slipped out of their power cradles. Arak gaped. "But... we can't! There's more of them out there!" Yuri shook her head. "This place is a death trap! If they can move right through the walls, we have a better chance out in the open!" "MISS XERO IS CORRECT. THE GENERATORS CAN ONLY PROVIDE 8 MORE MINUTES OF POWER FOR THE INTERNAL DEFENSES UNLESS THE SIPHONS ARE DISABLED." As if to emphasize that point, spurts of gunfire were heard from the door separating the hallway from the bridge. Yuri nodded. "Katrina, get ready to back up the droids. Arak, where are the guns?" Katrina frowned as Arak removed some blaster carbines from a compartment in the wall. "Wait a minute kid. I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not taking orders from some kid who's never been in actual firefight before!" Predictably, the green-haired girl glared at her, and Katrina allowed herself to feel a bit smug before something hard smashed into her back, sending her stumbling across the floor. She whipped her light saber around, but stopped when she saw the bright red sensor visor shining its glaring light in her eyes. "YOU WILL TAKE ORDERS FROM WHOEVER GIVES THEM TO YOU. YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY HERE. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?" Katrina's eye twitched, but one look at Unit 01's glowing energy dampener in the pit of its metal fist was enough to quell her temper. Yuri smiled at the large robot and patted it on the plating covering the tread. "Thank you Rac, now let's get out of here." Units 01 and 02 rolled to the rear of the ship, followed closely by the three humans, the last one muttering about little teenage brats and smart- ass computers. Once they reached the hatch, Arak reached for the opening switch, only to have his arm caught by Yuri. "You can't do that! They're gathered around the hatch!" Arak frowned. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I'm sure the droids can take care of it." "Maybe..." Yuri hesitated. Before Arak could ask just when she was put in charge, she turned to the spherical drone that had followed the combat droids. "Rac, divert all remaining power to the engines!" "WHILE THAT'S A CLEVER SOLUTION TO CLEAR THE REAR OF THE SHIP, THE NORMAL ENGINE EMISSIONS WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO-" Arak nodded slowly as Rac went on. "Rac, disable the ion dampeners, fuel regulators, and dispersment arrays. Put all remaining power into engines 2, 4, and 6 in one burst! Now!" "ROGER." *THWOOOM!!!* The ship lurched forward as the engines blasted energy into the alien marines, sending them screeching to their deaths as the hot radiation poured through them like a river. Inside the ship, the lights flickered uncertainly before going dead completely, and Arak hit the switch on the entry hatch, causing a rush of air to nearly suck him outside as the much thinner air in the alien ship attempted to stabilize itself. Unit 01 and 02 lumbered down the exit ramp, their torsos swiveling back and forth in their search for hostiles. 01's sensors picked something up, and it turned to focus on a small group of red aliens that were phasing out of the ship. "HOSTILES IDENTIFIED." *Zshoo!* *Zshoo!* The creatures erected barriers in front of them, only to be totally blown away as the plasma tore through the psychic shields with ease. Arak, Yuri and Katrina came rushing out of the Wild Horse, the former nearly tripping over the charred blue corpses of the strange aliens. A floating black drone followed them, casting its eerie red light over the masses of dead. Yuri turned toward the hovering black drone. "Where's Ranma?" "SAOTOME AND SHIKODAN ARE IN THE LEFT TUNNEL." The sides of the drone popped out suddenly, and small crystal rods flashed red as they rotated around the sphere's axis. "SCANNERS DETECT AN ENEMY REGIMENT BETWEEN THEM AND US. COURSE OF ACTION?" "Well, obviously we should-" *BWOOOM!!!* "SCREEEEEE!!!" The alien soldiers screamed as the fleshy wall of the battlecruiser was ripped apart by a proton bomb, and they were sucked into the vaccuum of space. Yuri screamed as the flow reached her, and she fell down as the pull dragged her across the soft, wet floor of the ship. Arak and Katrina both collapsed onto the ground as well, and gripped any available protrusion as air rushed past them. "FRIENDLY UNIT IS DOWN!" Rac's drone turned toward Yuri, and one of its compartments opened up and shot a grappling hook that clung firmly to her shoulder. This didn't do anything but drag the drone along with her, at least until one of the much heavier combat droids reached out and grabbed the sphere firmly in its claws. Arak watched with fascination as the organic bulkhead opposite the ruined wall seemed to melt, and then reach out to fill in the vaccuous hole. Webs of flimy skin fanned out of nowhere, gripping the wall firmly and melding with it seamlessly. Within moments, the hole had been filled, and their intended passageway was blocked by a wall of stringy flesh. Turning to the wall, he saw huge veins pulsing as various liquids flowed through the living vessel, fueling the ship as it defended itself from Ryloth's guardians.  
  
Yuri got up wearily, and located her blaster that had been caught by some sort of slimy node sticking up out of the ground. Staring at it as she wiped the slime off her weapon, she noted that the head of the node ran into a vein of some sort that pulsed blue with energy. A vein that ended at one of the Wild Horse's turbolaser cannons. Katrina got up and made a disgusted noise as she wiped slime off her bare legs. "Well 'commander'? What now?" Yuri ignored the barb, and stared at the multitude of other veins that had latched onto the Wild Horse and were obviously draining its energy. Then she turned to Arak. "Let's go down the right tunnel. Hurry!" Arak shrugged. "Sure. Whatever. Do I want to live forever?" His darted over to Units 01 and 02, who were already clearing a path through the remaining aliens still coming from the other tunnel. One of the red ones put its hands together, and then thrust them forward, throwing a bolt of blue energy which struck Unit 02 in the shoulder, causing a ripple in the air and several sparks. A moment later that creature was disintigrated. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Arak sighed and followed Yuri. ___________________________________________________________________________ _______  
  
"Rayden! You okay?" Ranma shouted as he ducked behind another node of flesh and swiftly changed battery packs in his blaster. Ducking away, he shot two more alien troopers in the head, then rolled away as the node collapsed before a torrent of blue psionic blasts and yellow energy bolts. "I'm all right!" Rayden ignored the pain in his left shoulder, and leaned away from his own cover to fire his blaster carbine into the crowd of defenders in order to give Ranma some cover. In his injured arm he hefted his grenade launcher, its clip half gone and its damage potential evident from the patches of molten plasma still burning through the ghastly hall of the strange ship. Ranma ducked under another volley, then snatched a blaster in his other hand and fired them both into the crowd, annoyed when he saw his shots mostly blocked by the red ones' energy shields. Flicking a clip on his belt, he holstered his blaster right as he felt a small metal sphere fall into his hand. Flipping on the thermal detonator, he tossed it at the feet of the grouped defenders before backflipping away and hitting the ground. *THOOOM!!!* Rayden grunted as he felt the heat wave rush over him, and then noticed that there were more of the blue aliens coming from where they had come from. He raised his blaster carbine and fired into them, also alerting Ranma to their presence. The pigtailed man rolled away from the initial volley, and began firing into the ground, again with two blasters. The aliens fell quickly, but were quickly backed up. Rayden staggered to what was formerly the front of the ridge that had protected him from enemy fire, and then stumbled forward as red tentacles shot up from the ground and wrapped around his legs and arm. 'Don't fight... just die...' Rayden stopped struggling in shock as the voice echoed in his head, and found himself stunned as the rest of the alien began phasing upward through the fleshy ground beneath him. He came to his senses as another tentacle ripped away his blaster rifle, and he immediately threw his other weapon to the side. "Ranma! Here!" "Wha?" Ranma barely had time to drop his current weapons before he was almost bowled over by the heavy grenade launcher. *Vsht* "Argh!" Ranma shouted out in surprise more than pain as an energy bolt tagged his calf, and rolled to the side before leveling the launcher at the nearest group of enemies. *Kroom!!* The aliens' cries were quickly silenced as the plasma enveloped them, and Ranma fired off another grenade before he leapt up onto the cieling, catching his foot in a thick web of fleshy skin. Firing two more grenades, Ranma annihilated the nearest groups of aliens. Then, with a swift movement of his wrist, a blaster was once again in his hands. *Pshoo!* The red alien let out a ghastly groan as the bolt pierced its head, and it slowly crumbled away even as Rayden stumbled and began to recover. The creature hadn't physically hurt him, but his vision was fuzzy and his thoughts sluggish, as if he had just woken up... "Ray! Are you all-what the?! Ack!" Ranma shouted helplessly as the stringly flesh he had been hanging from wrapped around his waist. "R... Ranma?" Rayden groaned and shook his head, trying to clear it.  
  
Ranma shouted some more, but to no avail as tendrils of what looked like muscle tissue wrapped around his torso and pulled him up into a small tunnel. Gasping desperately, the pirate captain was finally ejected from the tunnel quite roughly, and tumbled across the wet floor as he tried to get his breath back. Coughing slightly, Ranma quickly stood up to assess where he was. And he stared. He was in a large, spherical room, with nerves stretched out along the walls. These nerve strands all originated from a massive cluster of glowing cells in the center of the room, suspended in midair by strange- looking, organic cords that crackled with electricity. "What is all this?" He asked no one in particular. He didn't expect to be answered, and so it was understandably surprising when light poured out of his chest pocket, where he had put the crystal from earlier. 'You... the destroyer... see us...' Ranma stared hard at the pulsing mass in front of him. "You're like the brains of all this... you're the one behind this!" 'Behind... attack... attack necessary... destruction necessary... need is great...' "Need!" Ranma growled, "Need for what?!" 'Need... survival... power... revenge...' Ranma snarled, but said nothing. 'You understand... more than you realize... you too... I see...' "You see what?! Get out of my head!" 'Understand... further... see... like we do...' Ranma winced as a sudden whine filled the air and seemed to cut through his senses. He staggered forward, and then almost collapsed as images filled his head. 'Pain...' images of torture, experimentation. 'Suffering...' images of struggling aliens as they fought in inhuman condition for survival. 'Fear...' unknown attackers, ripping them to shreds. 'Annihilation...' a... creature... growling as it feeds upon the slain. 'See us... unguru, psion, darshu... we are the Krell...' Ranma fell to his knees in the puddle of neural enzymes, clutching his head with one hand as images filled his mind. 'See us... help us... the pain... revenge...' "Look, don't think I'm not sympathetic or anything..." Ranma slowly stood up, his knees wobbly, gripping the strange alien crystal tightly in his hand. "But......... no." and then, applying a bit more pressure, shattered it completely. Then he brought up Rayden's grenade launcher, and pulled the trigger. *Krooom!!* Even without the crystal creating a link between him and the mind of the ship, Ranma could still feel the depth of the monstrous creature's cry as it died, and was again knocked off his feet as a massive psychic backlash rushed out of the central nervous core.  
  
"*Groan* Oh man, what a rush." Ranma stood up, and looked at the walls. He noted with a mix of satisfaction and nervousness that they were starting to dry up and crack, like rotting skin. "Well, I guess it's time I made my exit." And with that, he picked a tunnel, and ran.  
  
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End Chapter 9 


	10. Planetfall

Supernova  
  
Chapter 10  
  
by Black Dragon  
  
revcoll@peoplepc.com  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/fanficlair/index.html  
  
Standard disclaimer applies. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my wonderful prereaders, whose devotion and love of Ranma 1/2 is matched only by their devotion and love of Star Wars.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Planetfall  
  
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"Rac, do we have anything? Anything at all? What's your status? RAC!! Where are you?" Rayden shouted into his wrist bracer, frowning. Pushing a button next to the small communications relay screen, he was suddenly assaulted by a number of garbled tones and static.  
  
"Damn... it's gotta be something in all these crystals here... nothing else around that could disrupt a comm signal..." Rayden frowned, and then slowly stepped out of the hallway he had been walking through, his left hand fingering his blaster carbine.  
  
The room he had stepped into was much larger than any of the other rooms he had happened across, with a number of large pods with skeletal frames embedded in several pits in the floor. Naturally, each pod was made of the same biological material that made up the ship, with veins and small organs pulsating beneath a thin layer of flesh. Next to each pod was a small spire, with a crystal head that didn't appear to be firmly attached to the base.  
  
The room also held a number of enemy Krell, most of them panicking and clutching their heads as they ran about in confusion.  
  
"What's all this?" Rayden wondered aloud, flexing his right hand experimentally. He had run into a few small groups of the aliens before, and had taken a few bad hits in the arm. With the wounds already healing though, he still figured he could mop up any more regiments that he came across.  
  
One of the blue aliens, the ones with the metal backpacks and wrist-mounted blasters, seemed to notice him as it scurried by, and stopped suddenly, unsure of what to do.  
  
"Suck it." *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* Three blaster bolts struck it in the head and chest, and the creature crumpled to the ground lifelessly.  
  
Snorting, Rayden reached his right hand into his trench coat, and then pulled out another blaster carbine, arming it as he flipped it over in his hand to take aim.  
  
With both guns being held straight out at his opponents (who still wandered around unaware of him), the space pirate cleared his throat loudly before speaking.  
  
"Yo! I don't know what you freaks are, what you're doing here, or why there's a gigantic eye embedded in the ceiling!" he shouted, having realized that there was, in fact, a huge eye ball in the center of the ceiling looking down. Looked kind of red and hazy too.  
  
At this point, all of the Krell stopped wandering about the room, and were now looking directly at him.  
  
"You all have 'till the count of four to scurry on out of here before I kill all of you! Understand? ... I said, 'Do you understand?' Any of you speak basic? No? None of you? You guys suck! Seriously!" Rayden sighed. "There's not even anything to steal... the backpacks might be worth something... but I doubt it..."  
  
He looked around again, and noted that he still had the room's inhabitants at rapt attention. "Well, if it's all the same to you then, I'm just gonna start shooting stuff, okay? ... Okay."  
  
What happened next could only be called a massacre of the most brutal level. The Krell, confused and hurt by the sudden, unexpected death of their ship's psionic core, started firing back and running only after their attacker had opened fire, and were cut down swiftly.  
  
Rayden jumped from his position and hit the ground rolling, flipping back to his feet with new power packs in his blasters and two dead clips bouncing across the fleshy ground.  
  
Juking left and right almost at random to throw off the defenders' aim, Rayden released a new hail of blaster fire, killing most of the aliens at they tried to defend themselves and throwing the rest into a retreat into the hall along the opposite wall.  
  
Rayden winced as an energy bolt slammed into his left shoulder, and then glared at the translucent blue creature that had only just started to fall back.  
  
*Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* The alien's body collapsed within moments, its neck ending in a charred stump.  
  
Rayden frowned as he scanned over the rest of the room, casting the occasional glance at the gigantic eye in the ceiling. Weird. It almost looked like it was getting worse. Like an itchy eye that kept getting scratched.  
  
Feeling a tingling feeling in the back of his head, the space pirate whirled around and aimed his blaster, only to get it slapped out of his hand by a red tentacle.  
  
"Gyah!" A second tentacle thrust toward him and wrapped around his leg, and Rayden braced himself as it tugged at him. Looking at the twin tendrils, they seemed to be coming out of the wall he was next to, but Rayden had seen these types of appendages before.  
  
"Stupid psychics, coming out of nowhere and grabbin' whatever..." Rayden trailed off grumbling, and then threw himself forward, thrusting his hand deep into the fleshy wall and grabbing firm.  
  
"Come out and face me ya alien freak!!" Rayden growled as he pulled back hard, the tentacles having lost their tension around him when he had closed the distance.  
  
Within moments the slimy matter he was holding was torn from the wall, and the space pirate found his hands lodged into the chest of one of the red aliens, the Krell psychics.  
  
Rayden blinked. "Whoa... I didn't actually think that would work..." He shrugged, grinning.  
  
*Crack* *Snap* *Crunch* *Snap* The creature made a shrill whining noise as its entire spinal column was mutilated, and its body began melting away in the strange manner unique to the psions.  
  
Rayden turned away from the scene, idly wiping his hand on his coat. "Okay... now what?" He picked his blasters off the ground, still casting occasional glances at the eye stuck in the ceiling. "I've gotta find Ranma, but... where did he go?" He frowned, and then looked at the wall. Several long ridges were visible beneath the strange "skin" of the ship's walls, which Rayden had assumed to be veins. "Weren't those things pulsing a minute ago? What's going on?"  
  
"I heard something! Down here!"  
  
Rayden whirled around at the voice, aiming the carbines in his hand down the hall he had come from. "Waitaminute. None of those freaks can talk..."  
  
The pirate grinned when he saw Unit 01 roll around the corner and into his line of sight, and dropped his arms. "Hey Rac! There you are! What're you doing out here?"  
  
The battle drone turned its red visor eye towards it. "THE UNIT DISPATCHED WITH YOU AND SAOTOME WAS DESTROYED, AND THE WILD HORSE WAS COMPROMISED. IT SEEMED LOGICAL TO UNITE OUR RESOURCES."  
  
"Good to see you too," Rayden muttered, and then blinked as Yuri, Arak, and Katrina all exited the hallway, followed by the second battle drone and a spherical drone.  
  
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him. Then she looked around the room. "Where's Ranma? And what is this place?"  
  
Rayden scratched the back of his head. "I dunno what this room is for. It definitely seems important, though. As for Ranma, he's not with me. He got sucked up."  
  
Katrina blinked. "'Sucked up'?"  
  
Rayden nodded. "Yup. Sucked up. Like a meteor into a black hole."  
  
Yuri tilted her head slightly to one side. "Sucked up where?"  
  
Rayden frowned. "I dunno. Somewhere over there." He gestured vaguely to the wall beside him. "He took my grenade launcher, too."  
  
Yuri tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Well, then we should probably-"  
  
*Beep!* "SCAN COMPLETED. ENEMY VESSEL DAMAGE ASSESMENT EVALUATES THAT ENERGY CORE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY HAS BEGAN A GRADUAL DETERIORATION THAT WILL REACH CRITICAL IN APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES."  
  
Arak blinked. "Eh? What happened?"  
  
"Yeah!" Katrina protested, whirling on the tiny floating drone. "This thing hasn't taken nearly enough damage to start breaking apart! We would have noticed!"  
  
The drone turned towards her and burned its red gaze into her eyes, causing the rogue Jedi to wince slightly. "SCANS INDICATE THAT THE LOSS OF CORE FUNCTION WAS NOT CAUSED BY EXTERNAL DAMAGE, BUT BY A SIGNIFICANT ENERGY DISCHARGE WITHIN THE VESSEL AT A CRUCIAL POINT. ALL PRIMARY VESSEL FUNCTIONS, AS FAR AS I CAN TELL WITH THIS TYPE OF SHIP, HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED, AND WITHOUT THE ENERGY CORE, THE SHIP ITSELF IS DYING."  
  
Yuri blinked. "Dying?"  
  
The sphere swiveled up, and then sharply back down in imitation of a nod. "DYING."  
  
Rayden scratched his head. "Well, that would explain a lot."  
  
"Like what?" Arak asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, like this." Rayden pointed to the eyeball set in the ceiling. It looked totally blank and fogged over now, and blood was slowly trailing along the edges of where it was set into the ceiling, like red tears.  
  
He looked at it for a moment, then raised his blaster at it.  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing?!" Yuri shouted, quickly echoed by Arak.  
  
Rayden looked at them as if they were stupid. "I'm going to shoot it."  
  
Arak blinked. "Why?"  
  
Rayden shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
Before either the scientist or the diplomat could ponder a response to that, Rayden had raised his blaster straight up and pulled the trigger.  
  
*Thriick!* The sound of tearing membranes and shriveling flesh rang sharply throughout the room, and the eye exploded outward, spilling a huge mess of thick liquids, and a smaller, more solid mass, toward the soft floor below.  
  
*Spluck* *Wham!* *Thud!*  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"*Cough!* *Hack!* *Ptooey!* Glaaaugh... ow..."  
  
Yuri, Arak, and Katrina all blinked in perfect synchronization.  
  
The grayish slimeball began to shake itself, and two grime-covered hands started to wipe off a grime-covered face disgustedly.  
  
"Aw geez... stupid evil weirdo psychic... uh... ship... thingy..." Ranma frowned, and then shook his head rapidly to try and get some of the slime out of his hair. "Well, whatever it was, it was stupid."  
  
Yuri gasped. "Ranma! There you are! Are you okay?!" She began to rush toward him, but then stopped when he thrust his palm out toward her.  
  
"I'm fine. Stay there, please." Ranma grimaced and began to wipe off his arms.  
  
"Hey man... glad to see you're all right... could you get off me now?" Rayden asked weakly, still lying under the mound of goo.  
  
Ranma blinked, and then jumped up. "Aw, geez! Sorry man! You okay?"  
  
"A little slimy, but I'll live," the gunman muttered, pushing himself to his feet. "Glad we found you. Can we go now?"  
  
Ranma blinked. "Yeah, actually. Sounds good to-"  
  
*Brreeep!!* "WARNING!! ENEMY COMBATANTS INCOMING!!"  
  
"Oh, cripes..." Ranma scanned the edges of the cavernous room they were in, and then dashed behind one of the skeletal pods that were set in the floor. "Rac, have Units 01 and 02 cover the East hallway! Ray, get ready to push through back to the ship! Arak, Yuri, come here! Katrina, can you cover our rear?"  
  
Ranma continued shouting out orders, and Rayden looked down the hall he had come from curiously. "Hey Rac, can we get some stats on the enemy? Where are they?"  
  
*Beep* "UNCOMFIRMED. ENEMY ENERGY SIGNATURES APPEAR TO BE MOVING THROUGH SHIP MASS AT WILL."  
  
Yuri jerked to a stop and turned around to face the metal sphere. "Huh? You mean-GYAH!!!" She shouted in surprise as two crimson tendrils blasted up through the floor, swiftly wrapping around her ankles and waist.  
  
Ranma whirled around and grit his teeth as he saw glowing red appendages seep out of the walls around them. "Psions! Damn!"  
  
Rayden blinked. "What?"  
  
Ranma pointed to the form that was slowly seeping out of the floor in front of Yuri, revealing the rest of its body. "It's a Psion!"  
  
Rayden stared at him for a moment. "How do you know-"  
  
"Shut up and kill it!" Ranma growled, and then brandished his own blaster as two more of the psychic shock troops emerged from the fleshy wall in front of him.  
  
"Yessir!" Rayden shouted, and then curtly incinerated the creature's skull with a well-placed blaster bolt.  
  
Yuri gasped and tumbled backward as she was freed, looking wildly about her as she saw everybody but herself and Arak begin to engage the ghost-like aliens. Katrina had waded into a mess of them warily near the hallway, with Rayden cutting down everything that wasn't near her. The combat drones had powered up their weapons systems in the rear, and she could feel the vibrations of their plasma projectors as they laid waste to their section of the alien hangar.  
  
She got up unsteadily, and then noticed one of Rayden's blasters on the ground near the mound of slime that he had unintentionally formed.  
  
"Pleasedon'tletmedie, pleasedon'tletmedie, pleasedon'tletmedie..." Walking past Arak, and ignoring his muttering as he clasped his hands above his forehead, Yuri glanced around the chaos surrounding her, and then snatched up the weapon.  
  
Arming it with a switch on the side, Yuri clambered up next to one of the flesh-and-bone mounds that stuck up out of the floor and inspected her blaster. It looked like the Imperial model, probably an E-11 or something of similar make.  
  
Frowning, she found another switch on the side, and a panel on the side of the weapon lit up brightly.  
  
*Shoo* *Shoo* She jerked back quickly as two wild energy bolts sailed past her and cut into the soft, fleshy floor, and quickly turned toward the group that was converging on Ranma.  
  
*Sho-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shoo!*  
  
Ranma nearly jumped away as a sudden rain of energy cut into the group of psions converging on his left, but a quick glance over his shoulder revealed that Yuri had taken it upon herself to join the battle. While her accuracy left something to be desired, Ranma couldn't fault her ingenuity; using the autofire seemed to compensate for her aim.  
  
Ranma ducked a tentacle, and then rolled forward as more tentacles began sprouting from the floor, thrashing at him. He hit two nearby aliens with his blaster, and then jumped into another to avoid a psionic bolt, kicking it in its small ribcage before driving a fist into its thin neck, killing it.  
  
Jerking to the right to avoid another bolt, Ranma jumped backward to gain some distance and reassess the battlefield.  
  
Suddenly a number of glowing red tentacles erupted from the ground beneath him, and Ranma fell backward as he was quickly entangled in the ghostly limbs, his blaster rendered useless against such an attack.  
  
"UNIT 01 MOBILITY COMPROMISED! 7 MINUTES UNTIL VESSEL STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY REACHES CRITICAL!"  
  
The sphere hovering next to Rayden beeped incessantly, and then seemed to split apart, with small antennae poking out from the globular shell.  
  
"WILD HORSE POWER RESTORED. ATTACK PATTERN HARBRINGER-THETA INITIATED. MAPPING TORPEDO ATTACK PATHWAYS..."  
  
The sound of the crossfire, the dying screeches of the Krell, the electronic voice of Rac... all began to fade from Ranma's mind as his consciousness was bombarded by a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Within seconds, his body stopped responding to the writhing tentacles that held him, and he rest lazily atop them, his arms limp as his brain was awhirl in sheer chaos.  
  
"Ranma! They got Ranma! Rayden, Arak, somebody, do something!" Yuri shouted, and then once again hit the trigger on her blaster, only to have the weapon beep loudly, and then dispense its depleted energy cartridge.  
  
"TORPEDO PATHWAYS SET. PROTON TORPEDO ATTACK SUBROUTINES... SET. ATTACK COORDINATES... SET."  
  
But there was something odd. Ranma KNEW that this was a tactic to distract him. He could still feel the light sting of the tentacles' grasp. He could feel the happy warmth that Yuri would show such concern for him. And he could feel the urgent need to take cover as he recalled what "attack pattern harbringer-theta" entailed.  
  
At the same time, he could feel the minds of his attackers. Confused, panicked, and beyond all else, afraid. These things were scared out of their wits, even as they invaded his mind and assaulted his crew in overwhelming numbers.  
  
"ATTACK PATTERN HARBRINGER-THETA INITIATED... FIRING CYCLE COMPLETE. TORPEDO DETONATION IN 27 SECONDS. 6.5 MINUTES UNTIL VESSEL STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY REACHES CRITICAL."  
  
"Arrgh!" Rayden shouted out in pain and frustration as a wave of psionic pulses slammed into him, causing him to stagger to the side. He turned to return fire, but was suddenly aware of a severe burning in his hands.  
  
Realizing that the blasts had damaged his blasters' power cells, Rayden quickly threw both weapons blindly into the swarm of attackers, and then wearily stepped behind one of the numerous skeletal drop-pods strewn about the room.  
  
*Brzzt!* *Thakoom!* *Brrrkkk...* Unit 02, already non-functional, began to leak freon and plasma as psionic bolts continued to pummel it.  
  
*Tshzit!* One bolt slammed into the battle drone's front chest panel, its energies slowly leeching through the final layers of blast armor and seeping into the drone's power supply.  
  
*Brzzzzt!!* *Gzaaack!*  
  
Ranma reached out to them, forced his way into their minds through their own psychic links. At once the tide of emotions began to slightly shift, and the creatures' remaining anger and determination were soon enveloped in fear.  
  
'I can feel them... interact with them... UNDERSTAND them...' Ranma thought, strangely at peace as the psionic beings tightened their grip on him.  
  
'They're terrified of me.'  
  
Ranma grinned under his blank stare, his eyes fogged over.  
  
One psion slowly phased through the floor beneath the pirate captain, its fogged, bulbous eyes glowering. Slowly it stalked up to the glowing mass of tentacles that desperately writhed about the man, trying to smother and choke him.  
  
The psion stopped, its face just centimeters away from Ranma. Slowly, it raised a hand toward the human's face.  
  
*Thrick!* Ranma's eyes snapped open as his hand shot forward, driving into the psion's chest and breaking through its thin skin instantly.  
  
Ranma stared at the red alien before him as it jerked it head about in agony, and then quickly tugged his hand back. "Oops. Sorry. Didn't mean to do that..." He trailed off as the psion began to melt away into nothingness, its very essence disappearing before him.  
  
"Oh... Never mind, then." Ranma shrugged his shoulders, then grimaced as he began to tear away from the tendrils that held him.  
  
*Ka-KROOM!!*  
  
Metal scrap and armor plates were thrown across the room violently as Unit 02 exploded, and Katrina gasped as a twisted mess of durasteel flew by her back, cutting it open in a thin gash.  
  
The damage wasn't so bad, however, as the opponent whom she was about to assault, who had a piece of arm smash into it at such a velocity as to separate its upper torso from the lower.  
  
Gritting her teeth, Katrina still possessed the will to turn on her heel and deflect an incoming psionic bolt with her lightsaber, and then cut low at a number of tentacles that were trying to ensnare her from the floor.  
  
Katrina twisted to one side as the red, glowing tendrils continued to rise toward her, waving her saber in a wide arc and deflecting another psionic blast. Quickly she located the nearest concentration of attackers, and rushed toward them, her saber aimed to block any initial strikes, and then cut shallowly once she was in attacking distance.  
  
At the entrance which the whole group had come from, another batch of Krell were ruthlessly assaulting Rayden's position, and the pod which he had ducked behind already had a large gouge blasted into it.  
  
Suddenly the pod started to move, and the alien onslaught lessened as a few of the creatures curiously waited to see what would occur.  
  
*K-k-k-rick* The tearing of tissues and tendons surrounded the shifting pod, and suddenly the entire vessel was hefted into the air, having been ripped free of its anchor.  
  
"Hyagh!" Rayden issued a savage grunt as he hurled the large object at his foes, who scattered ineffectually before being smashed like bowling pins.  
  
Grinning maliciously, Rayden slipped his hands into his trench coat and whipped out two more blasters, eagerly cutting down the remaining Krell that had escaped his projectile.  
  
Ranma dodged to the side as the pod bounced off a wall and began to roll about the room, crushing anything that happened to be in its path. As the pod passed, Ranma thrust himself back into the group of psions that had assaulted him, sweeping one with his leg before pushing into a spin-kick that slammed another Krell back into the hall that it had come from. Ranma ducked a tentacle as it lashed out at him, and withdrew his blaster as he jumped away toward the hall entrance.  
  
"WARNING! TORPEDO DETONATION IN SIX SECONDS! ALL UNITS, ON DEFENSIVE!"  
  
Ranma hit the ground rolling to slide under a series of incoming energy bolts, and then flipped upright again just in time for his back to hit the fleshy wall of the cavernous room. "Everybody, get as far away from the center of the room, NOW!!!" He snapped off two shots at a few aliens stalking Arak and Yuri's position, and grit his teeth as he saw a blue light flood the opposite entrance. 'Not enough time!'  
  
Rayden backhanded the psion that was trying to grapple him, and then kicked back hard on the ground, skidding backwards toward the wall on one foot.  
  
*Thud* He sunk heavily into the wet, soggy membrane that made up the room's walls, and took a deep breath as he readied the weapons in his coat.  
  
As a blue light appeared in the entrance leading back to the ship and began to intensify, the entire room started to quake as vibrations wracked the halls.   
  
"Let's get ready to burn..."  
  
Yuri gulped as she heard Ranma yell at her, and turned to Arak to follow him to the nearest safe haven.  
  
Her confidence, already suffering from the danger and panic around her, wasn't helped one bit when she saw the self-proclaimed genius standing in the middle of the room awkwardly, shaking like a leaf.  
  
"Oh, you are SO hopeless!" She shouted, and ran straight ahead, grabbing the man in passing and forcing him to start running alongside her.  
  
They hadn't made it halfway along the radius of the room when the room began to shake from the incoming projectile, and Yuri spared a glance to her right.  
  
"Take cover! Now!" Grabbing Arak once again, she yanked them both to the left, falling heavily onto the soft floor right behind a heavily scarred pod just as a bright blue streak sailed overhead.  
  
Katrina ignored Ranma's warning, ducking under an energy bolt and slicing through the blue Krell that was trying to flank her. Thrusting out her palm, she threw out a wave of power with the Force, and four other Krell that she had been trying to get to were knocked down onto their backs roughly.  
  
*Rrrrrrrrrummmmble...*  
  
The room began to quake, and Katrina grinned as she quickly found the closest wall. As a powerful Force user, she was gifted with supernatural speed, and wasn't worried about getting caught in whatever blast Ranma's short-sighted computer friend was setting up.  
  
Quickly shifting her mental focus, Katrina took off toward the wall like a missile...  
  
And fell like a rock.  
  
As her lightsaber deactivated and bounced harmlessly along the floor away from her, she cast a panicked look behind her. Much to her distress, her boot was firmly entwined in a coil of translucent red flesh that indicated that a psion had taken hold of her.  
  
*ShooOO!* The blue streak of a proton torpedo sped by overhead, twisting slightly to bring its course precisely toward the center of the room.  
  
Then, with it's first task completed, the sophisticated munitions performed its second, and final service.  
  
*KA-THOOOOM!!!*  
  
"KYAAAAAAA!!!" Katrina screamed as a blistering heat wave slammed into her back, and then she stopped to suck in air as she felt the low-energy proton pulse pierce her body, like a million tiny needles stabbing into her back.  
  
She tried to scream again, but she found that she was unable to, for whatever reason. Her vision went blank and her mind began to fog over, even as she fought harshly to try and concentrate.  
  
Through the haze she was in, she forced her body to move; with all her strength she moved a hand forward, then gripped the ground with that hand and dragged her body ahead.  
  
'Must... get to my... lightsaber...' Katrina coughed mightily, but continued crawling forward with all the life she could still muster, not even stopping to try and identify what exactly it was she had just coughed up.  
  
Her hand reached forward again, and pressed into something soft.  
  
'Lightsaber... must get... don't want to die... must...' She pressed harder on whatever it was, and it gave way, generating a momentary spark of hope within the murky fog of her mind.  
  
Then, just as quickly, the spark was drowned in panic as she felt her entire body being sucked up into whatever hole she had just forced her arm into.  
  
Ranma swallowed shallowly as he searched for Katrina's position, his senses thrown into mild disarray from the detonation. He knew that she had tripped somehow and caught in the blast, but he wasn't yet sure if she had survived it.  
  
The proton torpedo had been a small warhead, specially designed for the admittedly foolhardy tactic of launching into the middle of a skirmish (rather than being launched specifically at the enemy). Thus, those enemies directly under and around the center of the room had been totally annihilated, while those a little further away had only been killed or mortally wounded. While Katrina had been within that particular circle, he supposed there was a CHANCE that she had survived.  
  
Despite that admission, Ranma was just as surprised as relieved when he saw the false Jedi crawling along the ground, her back charred and bloody.  
  
Ranma quickly turned toward the other end of the room. "Ray, get Katrina, quick! Rac, can you dispose of the remaining unfriendlies?" There were still a few aliens scattered around the outer rim of the room, though they were so heavily shell-shocked from the blast that the firefight had completely stopped.  
  
*Bzt!* "NEGATIVE. UNIT 02 HAS SUSTAINED CRITICAL DAMAGE AND IS NON-FUNCTIONAL."  
  
Ranma glanced to his left at the remaining droid as he raised his blaster, and grimaced as he saw the sparking patches of bare circuitry all along one side of the battle drone. Apparently the energy pulse had pierced the small holes that the Krell had made and finished off the mighty machine.  
  
*Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* Ranma pegged two of the aliens hugging the wall while his eyes continued searching the room.  
  
"Yuri! Arak!" *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!*  
  
"We're here!" Yuri exclaimed, poking her head out from behind one of the pods.  
  
"All right!" Ranma yelled back, dodging to the left as a sudden spurt of energy bolts came back at him. *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* "Follow Rayden out of here, and then... what the?" Ranma glanced over at Katrina to see her push her hand against one of the pods lying in the pits around the cavernous room. To his surprise, the pod wall seemed to slit open, and then suck her entire body in on its own before reforming into a solid sheet of thick flesh.  
  
"Uh oh..." He watched from a distance as Rayden strafed over to the pod, razing the entire opposite wall with blaster fire. 'Well, as long as Rayden can get to her...'  
  
Then, something tugged sharply at the back of his mind. "Damn! Rayden, look out!"  
  
Rayden jerked back in surprise as he felt his legs being suddenly constricted, and lowered the blasters in his hand to destroy whatever it was that had taken a hold of him.  
  
He didn't get a chance to, as a series of glowing red tentacles phased upward out of the ground, slamming into him with a speed and ferocity that he hadn't yet seen in the rather fragile Krell.  
  
He quickly struggled to get to his feet, only to feel his entire body begin to succumb to paralysis.  
  
Ranma took off like a bullet as the psion's tentacles writhed around his friend, not willing to trust his blaster against the Krell's psychic shields.  
  
The psion phased upward through the ground much faster than the others had, and turned to face Ranma just as the pirate captain had reached striking distance.  
  
*Bzak!* Ranma winced as his gauntlet glanced off of the psion's shield with no ill effect, and then somersaulted as several tentacles whipped toward his legs, intending to trip him.  
  
The psion followed his movements carefully, and then twitched as Ranma flipped back onto his feet with a small metal object in his hand.  
  
"Let's see ya block THIS, freak," Ranma grinned, and switched on Katrina's lightsaber. *Pssshoo* *Hummmm...*  
  
The psion looked hesitant, and then swiftly withdrew all its tentacles, releasing Rayden from its grip.  
  
As Ranma stood before it cautiously, the alien whipped one tentacle around behind it, smashing it into the flesh pylon next to pod Katrina had been sucked into. The crystal atop the pylon went flying across the room, bouncing haphazardly across the floor.  
  
'What's it doing? What was that?' Ranma thought, holding his position. If he waited long enough, Rayden would come to and crush the stupid alien himself. If not...  
  
*Shlooooook!* The pod that held Katrina began to sink into the pit in the floor, and Ranma's eyes widened as the entire vessel suddenly dropped out of sight, the pit it had sunk into sealing up after it.  
  
"Wh-What in the-?" Ranma gaped as he stared at the spot, then glared hard at the psion as it stared back at him defiantly. "You little sonnuva-"  
  
*Pshoo!* A spear of white pierced the alien's head, and it teetered to the side lifelessly, falling to the floor in a slowly evaporating heap.  
  
Yuri smirked slightly as she lowered Ranma's blaster. "Heh. These things aren't so hard to handle after you get used to them." Behind her, Arak stared at the scene with wide eyes, apparently surprised that the girl had taken to the fight so easily.  
  
To everyone's surprise, Ranma ran over to where Katrina had been sucked up, and then fell onto his knees to feel along the soft, fleshy floor.  
  
Rayden got to his feet groggily, holding a hand to his head. "Hey, thanks for the save man. That was... Ranma? What's up?"  
  
"Damn it," Ranma muttered, feeling along a slight opening in the skin of the pit. Then he turned toward Rac's sphere drone. "Rac, these openings lead out into space, don't they?"  
  
*Beep* "AFFIRMATIVE."  
  
Rayden frowned. "You know something we don't?"  
  
Ranma turned toward him, biting his lower lip. "These pods... I saw them on Morcan. They're drop ships. This is a hangar."  
  
Arak blinked. "Which means..."  
  
"... That Katrina was just launched toward Ryloth," Yuri finished.  
  
"....... Bummer," Rayden added, "well, I'm ready to get out of here. Let's go."  
  
"THAT IS ADVISABLE. VESSEL HULL INTEGRITY WILL REACH CRITICAL IN 5.6 MINUTES."  
  
Ranma turned his head slowly as the others began to turn away and head toward the hallway, having accepted Katrina's loss with apparent ease. And really, why shouldn't they? Katrina was an accidental burden; an assassin that Ranma didn't have the heart to kill, and had kidnapped instead. It was extremely likely that she was planning on sabotaging them and killing them later at an opportunistic moment.  
  
Yuri had apparently noticed that Ranma wasn't following them into the hall, and had turned to look at Ranma sadly. Ranma knew that Yuri, at least, didn't hold the same apathy toward the woman's fate that the others did. She wasn't like that. But despite her sad expression, her eyes still told of helpless acceptance and detached, impersonal grief.  
  
'Aw man, why do I put myself through this crap?' Ranma thought to himself as he turned and made a beeline for the nearest pod.  
  
Yuri, who was still giving Ranma her best sad/empathetic stare, blinked as she saw Ranma walk toward one of the remaining drop pods and slap the crystal off the activation pylon. "Ranma! What are you doing?!"  
  
Doing his best to ignore her, Ranma stepped up to the fleshy wall of the pod and pressed hard against it. After a moment the barrier split open, and Ranma was quickly sucked inside even as the entire pod began to drop through the floor.  
  
"What in Palpatine's name does he think he's doing?!" Arak yelled, rushing back toward where Yuri was standing.  
  
"Ranma! No! She's not worth it!" Rayden yelled.  
  
*Shlooooook!*  
  
"Oh, sithspit."  
  
Yuri, Arak, Rayden and Rac all stared listlessly at the spot where Ranma's pod had dropped out of the hangar, practically unable to believe what their leader had just done.  
  
"R... Ranma... he... went after her..." Yuri mumbled softly.  
  
"MOST UNFORTUNATE. SCANS INDICATE THAT IT WILL BE EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT TO GET TO RYLOTH UNDETECTED WITH THE INTENSITY OF THE CURRENT FIREFIGHT IN PROGRESS."  
  
"I'm sick of this," Arak growled, "let's get back to the ship, before this whole damn thing falls apart with us inside."  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Rayden yelled, stepping in front of Arak and shoving the scientist back with an open palm. "We are NOT going to just let Ranma get himself killed for that Jedi chick! We're going down after him!"  
  
"The hell we are!" Arak yelled back, glaring up at the larger man. "Ranma's always playing the hero like this! If he's going to be an idiot and risk his life for that woman, he has no right to expect us to do the same! He understands that!"  
  
"But that don't MATTER, because we're going down after him anyway," Rayden insisted, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Arak flinched, then grit his teeth. "Step aside and return to the ship. Now. We don't have much time."  
  
"And since when do I follow your orders?" Rayden replied, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"Well, I'm the smarter and more logical of us, which has been made all the more obvious by this little exchange." Arak spat back. "Clearly, I should be the one in charge in Ranma's stead."  
  
Rayden grabbed Arak suddenly by the shirt collar, and then lifted him up into the air to look him in the eyes. "And how long is Ranma's 'stead', considering you're gonna leave him to die?"  
  
"L-Let me go, you Neanderthal!" Arak screamed, thrashing about helplessly in Rayden's grip.  
  
"STOP!! JUST STOP IT!! BOTH OF YOU!!" Yuri screamed.  
  
Rayden and Arak both jerked their heads toward the teenage girl, the former of them dropping the latter onto the ground.  
  
Yuri took a deep breath, then turned toward Rayden. "Ray, I know you really want to go after Ranma right now, but it's more important that we get back to the ship."  
  
"B... But... we can't just..." Rayden stuttered, looking devastated.  
  
"I know," Yuri said softly, "we'll have to figure something out once we're out of here. We won't leave Ranma behind, I promise."  
  
Rayden turned away sadly, and Yuri couldn't help but smile a bit. For a hardened, murderous pirate, the big lummox could be just as big a softy at times.  
  
*Beep!*  
  
Yuri turned, startled, as Rac's probe beeped loudly behind her.  
  
"HULL INTEGRITY WILL REACH CRITICAL IN APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES. I ADVISE THAT WE RETURN TO THE SHIP WITH ALL HASTE."  
  
Yuri blinked. "Uh... okay. But why are you telling me that?"  
  
"APPARENTLY, YOU'RE THE ONE IN COMMAND HERE."  
  
Arak's eye twitched. "Oh, verrrrrry funny. You're becoming a regular comedian, you know that?"  
  
The computer ignored the jibe, still pointing its active sensor at Yuri. "YOUR ORDERS?"  
  
Yuri gulped, then nodded slowly. "Okay... well, let's get back to the ship first. Then we should... uhm..." she trailed off, even as she began to lead the way into the decaying hallways of the alien vessel. "Hmmmmm... I think I've got an idea."  
  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ranma took a deep breath to calm himself as he sat in the center of the dropship, trying to avoid touching any of the walls, and to try and rationalize the huge mistake he had just made.  
  
"Okay. Lady comes up to me and tries to kill me. Later, the lady complains because I don't risk my life and my ship instead of just saving her life. Lady makes an ass of herself so that everyone onboard the ship hates her. Lady disobeys orders and gets herself hurt and launched toward a planet being invaded by murderous aliens. And I follow her on the incredibly small chance she survived, to try and save her. I am the galaxy's biggest moron."  
  
Ranma sighed and began to lean back, then remembered about the walls and jerked upright.  
  
The reason for this was that the interior of the pod had been outfitted with several layers of soft, sticky skin flaps over the walls, no doubt to cushion the soldiers inside from the eventual impact. While these layers probably didn't stick very well to the relatively hard skin of the Krell or the metal of their equipment, Ranma found that it was an excellent adhesive as far as his own clothes were concerned.  
  
"How come every time I try to do something GOOD, it comes back to bite me in the ass? No wonder I chose killing and looting as a career path," he muttered to himself, letting himself fall backward. He was still very tired from the earlier engagements.  
  
*Squick* "Gah! Bloody &#^%$(@* Krell and their +!@#$!% bio-ships! Damn freaks can't make their ships out of metal like everyone else!" Breathing heavily, Ranma began the most annoying task of picking strands of slime off of his back.  
  
*Rrrrrumble*  
  
Ranma stopped as the vessel began to shake. "Huh? What's going on?"  
  
*Ssssss*  
  
The shaking intensified, and Ranma noted that the floor was beginning to heat up.  
  
"Huh. I must be entering the atmosphere already." The sniffed the air a few times. "Hm. Smells like bacon."  
  
As the disturbances continued, Ranma looked for some way to brace himself for the impact. If he remembered correctly, these things only survived the landing due to the flexibility of the bone structure, and he couldn't imagine that the natural shock absorbers did much to soften the blow for those inside the vessel.  
  
Of course, looking around, there wasn't a whole lot to hold onto, unless one counted the numerous flaps of disgusting skin fibers.  
  
"I swear, if we both survive this, Katrina's gonna owe me lunch."  
  
*THOOOOOOOOOOOM!!* *Splack!*  
  
Ranma tried to groan, but only succeeded in getting more of the sticky, disgusting film in his mouth.  
  
The impact had thrown him directly into the surface he had spent the whole trip trying to avoid, and he was currently plastered against one of the bone pylons of the pod's skeleton, with cushioning skin wrapped around his legs and arms.  
  
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Blech! Get it off!" Ranma tried to push himself away from the interior wall, but found that the film that held him was a lot stronger than it looked. Which was probably by design, since they were made to cushion a powerful impact.  
  
"Hey! How do you get out of here, anyway?!" Ranma yelled in frustration, struggling in place.  
  
He never did figure out exactly what action triggered the expulsion, but at some point, Ranma suddenly felt a powerful suction take hold of his body. It was painful at first, as his limbs were still tangled in the flaps of skin, but before long the film gave way, and Ranma was ripped through the pod wall and tossed roughly onto the rocky ground of Ryloth.  
  
Ranma didn't get up immediately, because his lungs were suddenly assaulted by a dramatic, but not quite life-threatening, change in atmosphere. While the air on the Krell battlecruiser had been relatively thin, but humid, the air on Ryloth was almost painfully dry, and had a few chemicals that he was used to, to boot.  
  
"Lunch AND dinner," Ranma gasped, trying to catch his breath, "she owes me both now."  
  
Slowly, the space pirate got to his feet, and his bleary eyes took in the surrounding landscape.  
  
"Mostly hydroponics. Looks like an agricultural center." It didn't take long to spot the pale brown bio-organic drop pod amidst the rows of green plants, and Ranma quickly jogged over to it.  
  
"Okay, so I find Katrina, make sure she's alive, and then we'll... um... wait for rescue, I guess..." Ranma was really starting to wish he had put more thought into this whole operation. But then again, if he hadn't reacted to his heroic impulse and planned it out, that would have given the others ample time to hammer him with the voice of reason and talk him out of it. Ranma just wished that he could decide whether that would have been good or bad.  
  
"Katrina! Katrina! You there?" Ranma staggered up to the drop pod, which was still melted near the bottom because of the heat generated while it entered the atmosphere. "Well, if she is there, she's probably not in any condition to answer me," he mused.  
  
Walking up to the pod, he looked over the wall, deciding whether or not to trust its strange entrance mechanism. After all, he still wasn't sure how he had exited the vessel.  
  
"Aw, what the hell?" Ranma shrugged, then took a deep breath and pushed hard on the pod wall.  
  
*Shloook!* The vacuum took hold of his arm, and Ranma was momentarily disoriented as his body was enveloped by the flesh of the Krell drop pod.  
  
*Moosh* Ranma tripped over something as he was sucked inside, and fell roughly onto something firm and bumpy. He was still a bit disoriented, so it wasn't until he had pushed away from his landing spot that he could tell what he had landed on.  
  
"Seeee!" The blue Krell complained, raising its arm blaster to aim at the human who had stumbled into it.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened. All around him, lined up along the walls of the pod, the Krell raised their weapons and prepared to fire.  
  
"Now she owes me breakfast, too," Ranma mumbled.  
  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Wha... what happened...?" Katrina mumbled softly, trying hard to collect her thoughts surrounding the splitting pain along her back. It felt like she was on fire. Every twitch of her muscles brought such sharp daggers of agony, she wasn't even sure whether the muscle in question had moved successfully. It was like all of her senses had been physically attacked.  
  
Were she a fully trained Jedi, Katrina likely could have fallen into a healing trance and at least recovered her ability to concentrate and think straight, but as it was, her mind was a helpless wreck.  
  
A fuzzy, blunted rhythm beat in her head.  
  
'What is that? ...... Footsteps?'  
  
*Shloooook!* The sickening sound of the drop pod admitting another occupant seemed to bring her hearing back to normalcy, and she grasped onto those sounds and concentrated on them as best she could.  
  
"Kreeeek... Seee!"  
  
*Shloooook!*  
  
"Seeee."  
  
"Heeeees. Kreeeek!"  
  
"Sheeeek."  
  
Suddenly pain flared within Katrina's body, and she came to realize that she was moving, and not under her own power.  
  
"Seeeeek!"  
  
*Kashlak*  
  
Katrina's vision, which she had all but given up on at that point, turned from inky black to fuzzy white.  
  
'Where... light? Am I outside? Where am I...?'  
  
Trying harder to focus her mind, Katrina slowly forced her eyelids all the way open, and the sheets of white slowly began to darken into a hazy sketch of shapes and shadows.  
  
'I... I'm on a planet? How did I get here? What's going on?'  
  
*Thud!* "Ow!" Katrina yelped as she was dropped onto the ground, and looked up at the sky painfully.  
  
"SREEEE!!"  
  
"Kyeeek!"  
  
"Keeek! Keeeee."  
  
Katrina slowly moved her head to one side, trying to take in what was happening as her vision returned to her.  
  
Her eyes widened. Had she the muscle control at this point, she would have gasped.  
  
To her right was a small mound of Twi'lek corpses, all of them peppered with black pockmarks. Behind THAT was another mound of Krell corpses, and while smaller, the dead Krell were all warriors, while all but a few of the Twi'lek bodies looked to be civilians.  
  
'Is it an invasion, or genocide?' She thought to herself, trying hard to turn over to see the live Krell. That might yield some clue as to what they were trying to accomplish.  
  
While turning over didn't reveal any of their long-range plans, she was able to make out one of the Krell aiming its blaster at her head.  
  
'No... please... I don't want to die... not like this... no......'  
  
*Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* The alien jerked to the side as two blaster bolts cut into it, and Katrina could make out several of the other Krell orienting on the source of the fire.  
  
"Sreeee!" *Choom!* *Choom!* *Choom!*  
  
*Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Crack!* *Wham!*  
  
"Suck it, freaks!" *Pshoo!* *Pshoo!* *Thwack!*  
  
Katrina flinched from where she lay on the ground. 'Ranma? He's here?'  
  
*Thud* The last of the Krell in the immediate vicinity fell to the ground next to Katrina, who tried to control her breathing as best she could so that she could speak.  
  
"Ra... *Gasp* Ranma? You-You... *Gasp*" she sucked in air harshly and shut her mouth as her body protested the tiny allocation of energy and breath toward speaking.  
  
After a moment, Ranma was standing over her, and the Jedi stared.  
  
"You owe me breakfast, lunch, and TWO dinners," Ranma muttered. He had burn marks on his flight vest, his hair was ragged and dirty, and if Katrina had been in any state to notice, she would have realized that he was favoring his left leg. "You can cook 'em or buy 'em. I don't care. But you owe 'em to me."  
  
He sat down heavily next to her, and then pushed her shoulder down when the woman started to get up. "Just lie down for now, will ya? By all accounts, you're lucky to be alive. Don't push it."  
  
Katrina winced at the pressure Ranma put on her shoulder, but stopped trying to get up.  
  
"Why... d-did you... come... after me?" She gasped out.  
  
"Don't ask stupid questions I can't answer," Ranma mumbled. "I'm here now, and if I let you die, then all the nonsense I've been through to get here was for nuthin'. So just sit back and keep breathing."  
  
Ranma sighed and tapped a few buttons on the bracer on his right arm, activating the scanners. He frowned. 'Scanners can't pick up jack. Those Krell use so much bio-technology that searching for energy wavelengths is a waste of time. Maybe later Arak can put something in to scan for those weird crystal energies.  
  
Ranma leaned back a little bit and looked up into the sky. His eye twitched.  
  
"Crud! More drop pods!" Ranma exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Then something else caught his eye on a distant hilltop. "Gah! More troops! Aw, man..." Ranma looked around him for any area he could use to hide himself and Katrina. Eventually, his eyes settled on the pile of dead Twi'lek.  
  
"................ HELL no." He turned to Katrina. "Can you walk?"  
  
Katrina's face contorted into a vaguely angry expression. "I can... barely speak..."  
  
"Crap." Ranma concluded. Then he picked the Jedi up into his arms, causing the young woman to gasp in surprise and pain. "In your condition, this might hurt, but it'll hurt a lot less than if those freaks find ya."  
  
Katrina winced as Ranma began running; every time his foot hit the ground, it felt like an electric shock wave blasted through her body.  
  
'He came here... to save me? That's impossible! I tried to kill him... But... here he is...'  
  
The pain all along her body started to numb over, and Katrina felt her mind slip into unconsciousness as her physical senses began to dull.  
  
'Does he care about me... that much?'  
  
Her head slumped against Ranma's chest, and her eyes closed.  
  
'Damn you Ranma... at this rate I'll never be able to kill you...'  
  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
*GRRRZHAACK!!!* Huge ribbons of blue and white lanced out into the armor of the Nebulon-B frigate, searing and melting bulkheads while cutting through the armor like a knife through butter.  
  
*KAA-DOOM!!* The relatively thin middle segment connecting the two primary sections of the frigate burst apart as another energy ribbon pulsed into it, and the command section and weapons platforms lost power as the engines and power core went floating off into space.  
  
*BOOM!!* *Boom!* *Boom-Boom!* *Ba-Boom-Boom!!* The explosions began to increase in frequency and power as the chain reaction began in the engine core, speeding up until the rear section of the frigate detonated in a bright flash of over-charged plasma and metal debris.  
  
Above the swarm of ejecting escape pods that burst from the command segment of the frigate, one of the smaller Krell capital ships loomed, slowly making its way toward the next defending vessel.  
  
*Ka-Kroom!* *Ka-Kroom!* The Krell destroyer's light, biological armor caved in like a soap bubble before the destructive power of the barrage of proton bombs, and the same vessel that had just moments before claimed victory ruptured and swelled as an entire squadron of Y-wings rained destruction upon it.  
  
*Look at that thing burst. Like a bad brain tumor.*  
  
*Shit! The starboard side is sealing up again!*  
  
*Break Squadron, form up on me. Get ready for another pass.*  
  
*Where the hell is the bridge on that thing?! Where the hell are we supposed to put our bombs?*  
  
*Bogeys at 9 o'clock!*  
  
*Dagger Squadron, you're up!*  
  
*Gotcha Break Squadron, we've got your back.*  
  
As the Y-wings turned back toward the crippled frigate, a squad of A-wings cut sharply into the ranks of the Krell's inferior pod fighters, creating clouds of burnt flesh and twisted gore as their lasers tore apart the alien invaders.  
  
*Thanks for the backup Dagger Squadron. Let's drop the hammer.*  
  
*This is the Rekthurst! Black Squadron! Iron Squadron! Somebody, take out that enemy battleship before-*  
  
*No good! Too many fighters! We need interceptor support!*  
  
*There's no time for that! We've got to-BvvvVVT!!-NO!! AAAAAAAAA-psssssssssssssht...*  
  
The Twi'lek admiral frowned deeply as the signal cut off into static, marking the loss of another destroyer.  
  
"Have the dreadnaughts pull back with us. Concentrate on the fighters, and keep the hell away from those capital ships!"  
  
"Sir! Units Claymore and Yarimus are not responding!"  
  
"Damn it all! Pull back! Let our fighters take them down!"  
  
"Admiral! You'd better take a look at this!"  
  
The admiral's brain tails twitched in annoyance, and he stalked over to the scanner station that he had been called to.  
  
"You had best have good news, ensign, because if you have a problem, you can just shout it to me like everybody else!"  
  
Rather than being intimidated, the man shrugged and put up his scope readout on the viewscreen. "I think you'll find this interesting, sir."  
  
The viewscreen lit up to show the enemy battlecruiser nearest to the line of defenders.  
  
The admiral frowned. This battlecruiser was unusual not only because of the lava-vein pattern over its hull, but also because it had stopped functioning earlier in the battle for no apparent reason.  
  
"What's wrong? Is it active again?"  
  
At that moment, a chunk of the battlecruiser seemed to break off the rear of the vessel, and the admiral sweatdropped.  
  
"Well, yes and no, Admiral. The vessel still appears to be non-functional and right now seems to be coming apart. But it's also moving toward Ryloth. I don't think it's the gravity field though; otherwise, it'd be suffering drag from the moon's gravity well."  
  
The admiral's eyes widened, and he involuntarily took a step away from the monitor.  
  
"...... Take our remaining cruisers and position them to block the craft's progress toward Ryloth. Take that thing down."  
  
"Sir? If its weapons power up, and all our fighters are occupied with the remaining alien invasion force-"  
  
"I'm well aware of what might happen!" He snapped, causing the ensign to flinch back. "Let's just hope that it's as dead as you say it is!"  
  
With that matter finished, the admiral turned back toward the main viewglass, looking out into the vast expanse of space. All across Ryloth's normally calm skies, darts of red and sparks of blue flashed back and forth, occasionally dwarfed by a particularly large explosion of bloodspray or a series of blazing detonations.  
  
There was an awkward silence on the bridge as the technicians and officers ceased giving their reports, not having anything particularly different or useful to say.  
  
"Units are engaging..." the ensign muttered softly, unsure as to whether the admiral even wanted to hear it.  
  
Apparently he didn't, because another twitch of his brain tail was the only indication that he had heard anything.  
  
"Now that's odd..." the man mumbled, crouching over the relays. "Since when did these things have metal cores? And what kind of core propels itself with plasma relay propulsion systems?"  
  
The admiral blinked, then slowly turned toward his subordinate. "What did you say?"  
  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Well, there goes our little disguise," Arak muttered, watching huge strips of dead, disintegrating flesh rip away from the Wild Horse and float away in its engine wash.  
  
"ESTIMATES PLACE US AS BEING SUSCEPTIBLE TO LOW-INTENSITY SCANNERS NOW. IT IS SAFE TO ASSUME THAT THEY KNOW WE ARE USING THE ALIEN CRUISER AS COVER."  
  
Yuri nodded as she sat in Ranma's normal chair, her chin resting on her hands. She had thought that rather than blasting out and trying to navigate through the firefight toward Ryloth, that they could simply feed enough power to the engines to bring the battleship into the atmosphere with them still inside it. However, the alien ship had broken down faster than even Rac had anticipated, and it certainly hadn't helped any when two cruisers had opened fire on them.  
  
Another large piece of dying bio-matter tore away from the head of the ship, and Yuri watched as it slid off of the window that would normally show an unfettered view of space.  
  
She shuddered slightly as her new perspective revealed two mighty New Republic cruisers bearing down on them, bristling with weapons. Apparently Ryloth had managed to bring the rest of its defense fleet around for this battle.  
  
"Well, they're not firing yet. That's good." Yuri muttered to herself. "Rac, open up a channel and put it on-screen."  
  
"AFFIRMATIVE." *Beep*  
  
A monitor lowered itself in front of the captain's chair for Yuri, and after a moment it activated, displaying the upper torso of a Twi'lek captain.  
  
The man's initial harsh and determined manner was quickly shattered when he realized he was facing a teenage girl, however, and he began to stutter in confusion.  
  
*Wh-Who is... what-*  
  
"Captain," Yuri began professionally, taking hold of the conversation, "I am Yuri Xero, currently in command of the battle frigate Wild Horse." She kept a smug smile off her face as the captain gaped; this was the first time since stowing away she had gotten the opportunity to exercise her diplomatic experience, which was really the only particular skill she had.  
  
"I ask that you and your assisting vessel stand down, captain. We wish to collect a member of our crew that we believe may be stranded on Ryloth. In return, we offer our assistance in keeping the advancing enemy at bay." She finished calmly, and smiled pleasantly, without the slightest trace of malice.  
  
The Twi'lek captain was clearly overwhelmed, and his brain tails twitched nervously as he tried to sort out this most confusing turn of events.  
  
Seeing this, Rayden took it upon himself to help speed up the decision. "Yeah. Plus, if you don't, we'll destroy you."  
  
*Slap* Yuri grimaced as she held her face in her hands.  
  
The Twi'lek captain's bewildered expression shifted into a glare, and he snorted. *If those are our choices, then prepare to be destroyed, pirates.*  
  
"PRAY TO YOUR OTHERWORDLY SUPERIOR BEINGS, BIO-UNIT," Rac's eerie simulated voice pierced the signal as he interjected his own threats, "YOUR RESISTANCE ONLY BRINGS ABOUT YOUR SUFFERING. END TRANSMISSION."  
  
Yuri sweatdropped. "What are you people doing?" She mumbled half-heartedly.  
  
"Just doin' our job," Rayden said, grinning. "Now let's toast those losers!"  
  
"No! No! Wait!" Yuri cried, grabbing onto Rayden's arm. "We can't just blow them up!"  
  
Rayden blinked. "Sure we can."  
  
"SHIKODAN IS CORRECT. COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF THE ENEMY UNITS SEEMS COMPLETELY LOGICAL."  
  
Yuri grimaced and tried hard to think of a plausible reason to spare the lives of the defenders.  
  
"Well, I don't know," Arak began, swiveling his chair around to face the middle of the room. "It's not gonna be easy to take out two fully-armed cruisers, even when their fighter complement is elsewhere."  
  
Rayden blinked. "Why not?"  
  
One of Rac's drones suddenly bobbed upward to look Rayden in the eyes. "I BELIEVE TETSUMI IS REFERRING TO OUR RECENT CONVERSION OF THE TURBOLASER CANNONS INTO PAINTBALL WEAPONS."  
  
Rayden blinked again. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."  
  
*BOOM!* The bridge shook as a volley of turbolaser fire slammed into the front of the ship, and Yuri was nearly thrown from the command chair.  
  
"THE ENEMY CRUISER HAVE OPENED FIRE. I SUGGEST USING ION CANNONS TO DRAIN THE SHIELDS AND THEN USE TORPEDOES TO DESTROY THE ENGINE CORE, RUPTURING THE POWER SUPPLY."  
  
Yuri gulped. "Is there any way we can cloak and get past them?" She shouted to Arak.  
  
"No," he said simply. "And the Apocalypse cannon will just get us killed, since we can't line up a shot to take them both down from here."  
  
Yuri frowned. She hadn't asked about the Apocalypse cannon, and she wasn't about to. They had enough to worry about without fighting the Twi'lek! "Okay... take us around the right side of-"  
  
"Starboard side," Rayden corrected. "Gotta know the lingo."  
  
Yuri's eye twitched. "Starboard side of the nearest cruiser to try and minimize how much fire we take! Keep us on a collision course with the cruiser for as long as possible so that we can hit them with the heavy ion cannons. After we're past, we make a break for the planet. Got it?"  
  
Rayden scratched his head. "Isn't there some way we can do this that involves blowing up the cruisers?"  
  
"AGREED. ALTHOUGH DIFFICULT, IT WOULD-"  
  
"I already told you what to do! Now do it!" Yuri shouted, her face red.  
  
"Yes ma'am!" "AFFIRMATIVE!"  
  
"Violent psychopaths..." she mumbled to herself as she shifted back into Ranma's chair. Once situated, she watched as twin blue spheres blasted toward the nearest cruiser, outlined by webs of red laser blasts.  
  
'Please watch over me, Ranma...'  
  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Aw, crap!" Ranma yelled, ducking under a series of blue energy blasts as he ran for the city limits, and unconscious Katrina still in his arms.  
  
*Choom!* *Choom!*  
  
Ranma jumped forward, avoiding a few blasts that tagged the ground he had been running on.  
  
"Almost there... geez, is she even still alive? ... Yeah, okay, she's breathing..."  
  
Ranma looked left and right as he screeched to a halt just past the outskirts of the city, and quickly caught sight of several Twi'lek soldiers that had barricaded themselves in the building that he had just passed.  
  
"What the-? Is that a human?"  
  
"No way! Nobody can move that fast!"  
  
Ranma swallowed as one of the soldiers pointed his weapon at him and advanced. Those Krell were right behind him!  
  
"Hey, slow down there! Who are you and what are you doing here?!"  
  
Ranma's eye twitched. Either the soldier didn't see that he was hauling a nearly-dead woman, or didn't know that a number of hostile units were advancing on his position.  
  
"Forget who I am!" Ranma yelled, "I need to get to a med center! Or at least, I need to get to a ship!"  
  
The Twi'lek jabbed the muzzle of his blaster carbine at Ranma menacingly, and the space pirate found his irritation growing. In different surroundings, he probably would have strangled the moron with his own brain tails.  
  
"What you NEED is to pull out some I.D., round-head!"  
  
*Choom!* *Choom!*  
  
Ranma sighed as the soldier jerked forward, and then fell flat onto the ground face-first. Apparently the Krell had caught up with him.  
  
"Oh geez, the enemy!"  
  
"Take cover! Stop them here!"  
  
Ranma shook his head as he leapt onto the roof of a nearby building, and began dashing further into the city.  
  
Stopping on the roof of speeder shop, Ranma looked toward the skyline of the city's buildings, watching as several fighters launched from the city and headed out of the atmosphere.  
  
"A fighter port! Maybe I can finally get out of here!" Glancing down at Katrina, and making sure that she was still breathing, Ranma jumped down to the streets and began rushing toward the location he had seen the fighters lifting off from.  
  
As he ran through the streets, entire squads of soldiers and civilians wielding blasters ran the other way, occasionally giving confused glances at the near-blur that was racing downtown at velocities normally reserved for speeders.  
  
Ranma soon arrived at the star port, and dug his heel into the ground to kill his momentum, creating such a blast of dirt and rock that the guard on duty nearly shot him right then and there.  
  
"Who in the-... who are you? What are you doing here?"  
  
Ranma sweatdropped as the guard pointed his weapon at him. "Uh... Rogue Squadron?"  
  
The guard snorted. "Yeah, right."  
  
Ranma sweatdropped some more. "Er... Wraith Squadron?"  
  
The guard blinked, then lowered his blaster. "Well, I might be more inclined to believe that, except that you already tried to say you-" *Thwack!*  
  
Ranma smiled happily and walked toward the door with Katrina in his arms, letting the unconscious Twi'lek slump to the ground behind him.  
  
"Let's see... damn. Looks like they already manned most of 'em." Looking inside the fighter hangar, Ranma could only see fighters that looked to be either broken and in the midst of the repair, or undergoing a complete salvage.  
  
Turning to the far corner of the hangar, Ranma smiled as he saw an old Headhunter Mk. I that already had all its armor ripped off. Though it was entirely possible that someone had already cannibalized a vital component for parts, it looked to be the most functional craft still in the hangar, and Ranma wasn't going to be terribly choosy about ships now; he just wanted to get back to his own.  
  
As he neared the craft, Ranma looked over the bare circuitry with a little more scrutiny.  
  
"Wait a minute. Ion dampers and detrium converters? No Headhunter has that kind of technology! They weren't taking this thing apart, they were refitting it!" Ranma grinned. This would certainly make his escape more interesting; a Headhunter Mk. I was almost worthless, except possibly as scrap or target practice. However, some of the newer components might be worth quite a bit. He'd have to ask Rayden to look at it later to see how far it had been juiced up.  
  
"All right... in ya go!" Ranma gently slipped Katrina into a small cavity that had been carved out behind the pilot's seat (likely to hold the personal cargo of whoever had previously owned the craft).  
  
Jumping into the pilot's seat, Ranma hit a few buttons on the activation console. Red lights immediately flared, and a panel flipped up demanding an activation key and code.  
  
"Figures," Ranma muttered, "personal ship, lock it down. Too bad for whoever owns this heap that I make a career outta taking stuff that isn't mine." Sliding a switch down on the bracer on his right wrist, a small rod flipped out and then split open, revealing a small head covered in prongs and small pressure wires to fit any number of computer orifices. Sliding it gently into the key slot, Ranma tapped the command screen of his bracer, and a low grinding noise emanated from the key as it did its work.  
  
*Whoooooosh...*  
  
Ranma's head jerked up as the faint sound of wind pierced his ears. Then, after a moment, he decided that what he had heard probably wasn't a faint wind if it had arrested his attention so fully and effectively.  
  
"The hell...?"  
  
A slight buzzing in the back of his head began to grow in intensity, and soon Ranma could no longer hear the soft sounds of his computer jack at work.  
  
"Wha-What's happening? What-"  
  
Flash!  
  
Thoughts and images spilled into Ranma's head.  
  
Find the ruins.  
  
Kill the defenders.  
  
Ruins. Direction. Salvation.  
  
The tablets have been found.  
  
Decryption?  
  
The defenders are too strong.  
  
Fight harder.  
  
Kill them all.  
  
No, the ruins come first.  
  
We must have direction.  
  
It is our only hope.  
  
Destroy all that gets in our way!  
  
That is their way, not ours.  
  
Fight for survival.  
  
We have direction.  
  
The stars will now guide us.  
  
We have no more purpose here.  
  
RUN!  
  
*Beep!*  
  
Reality seemed to snap back into place around Ranma as his bracer chimed that it was finished, and he suddenly crouched over and grabbed his chest as he gasped for breath.  
  
"Wh-Wha... What... in the name of ALL of Endor's moons... was THAT?!"  
  
Ranma slapped the side of his head a few times when no clear external answer appeared to be forthcoming, but only succeeded in making the side of his head hurt.  
  
"Geez... did that weird psychic core thing do this to me?"  
  
Swallowing slightly, Ranma pulled his computer jack out of the key slot and noted that all the fighter status displays were green, except for a few that noted the lack of component pressure and indicated the status of the armor.  
  
"Well... I guess I'll figure that out later..."  
  
*JoooooooOOOOOOOOOO*  
  
The small craft slowly lifted off the ground as the anti-gravity lifts activated, and Ranma carefully pointed the craft upward.  
  
*Pssssht!* *Ranma! Are you there?! Ranma! Please answer me!*  
  
Ranma blinked as his bracer started spouting his name. Gunning the engines, his fighter accelerated swiftly as it shot upward into Ryloth's stratosphere, leaving a thin trail of scrap wire and tools that Ranma had neglected to take off the fighter first.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here. Is that you Yuri? What're you doing at the comm?"  
  
*Ranma, you're alive! I'm so relieved... Listen, we're heading into the atmosphere right now, so-*  
  
"Yeah, I see ya," Ranma interrupted, noting the large red shape that was penetrating the yellow clouds several kilometers away. "I'm on my way. Just have a bacta tank ready; Jedi girl's pretty banged up. Over and out." He hit the button on his bracer to cut the transmission and returned his attention fully to his piloting.  
  
'The Krell... where did they come from? And what are they searching for?'  
  
Bereft of answers, Ranma gave more power to the engines and sped toward his ship. Speculation could wait for another day. For now, he had a life to preserve.  
  
**********************************************************************************  
  
End Chapter 10 


End file.
